Hoyas stunt Provy comeback, take win

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No. 12 Georgetown Hangs on for 49-40 Win Over Providence

WASHINGTON - No. 12 Georgetown used an 8-0 run over the final 4:32 of the game and held on for a 49-40 win over Providence in a BIG EAST men's basketball game in front of 11,8344 fans at Verizon Center on New Year's Eve.

The Hoyas, winners of 10-straight games, improved to 12-1 overall and 2-0 in the BIG EAST, while Providence falls to 11-4 overall and 0-2 in league play. The 10-game win streak is the longest for Georgetown since the 2006-07 Final Four team won 11 in a row.

Senior guard Jason Clark (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Hoyas, while senior center Henry Sims (Baltimore, Md./McDonough) chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a career-high four blocked shots, and freshman forward Otto Porter (Sikeston, Mo./Scott County Central) added six points and 12 rebounds, his second-straight game with at least 10 boards.

Georgetown saw a 14-point lead in the first half disappear in the second half as the Hoyas struggled from the field - connecting on a season-low 30.5 percent of their shots - but took a six-point lead, 41-35, after a layup from Sims with 5:24 to play in the game. The Friars responded as Vincent Council hit a three-pointer with 4:54 left and LaDontae Henton hit a layup with 4:32 left to make it 41-40.

Porter, however, hit a layup with 4:04 to play to give GU a 43-40 lead, but missed the free throw that could have made it a four-point game. Both teams missed shots over the next three minutes - with Providence missing two free throws and three shots from the field - but Sims hit one of two free throws with 1:04 left to make it 44-40. The second shot was tipped by Porter to sophomore guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep), who hit a jumper with 39 seconds left to push the lead to 46-40. After a steal by Porter with 26 seconds left, Clark hit a layup and hit the free throw after being fouled to close out the scoring.

Providence trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and by nine early in the second half, but used an 10-1 run over a span of 4:46 and tied the game at 35-all on a free throw from LaDontae Henton. The Hoyas responded, hitting their first field goal in 8:28, as a jumper from Clark gave the Hoyas a 37-35 lead. Free throws from Sims and a put-back layup from Sims off his own miss pushed the GU lead back to six points, 41-35, with 5:24 to play.

The Hoyas led by eight points at the break, 27-19, and pushed the lead to double digits on a jumper from Thompson just over a minute into the second half. A layup from Council pulled Providence to within six points, 32-23, but a layup from Clark and one of two free throws from Sims gave Georgetown a 35-28 lead with 13:57 left before the Friars started their run.

A layup from Kadeem Batts gave the Friars a 2-0 lead and a jumper from LaDontae Henton maintained the margin at 4-2, but the Hoyas used a 15-0 run over a span of 6:37, taking a 17-4 lead on a jumper from sophomore forward Nate Lubick (Southborough, Mass./St. Marks), who had four points, four rebounds and one assist in the opening 10 minutes of the game.

Georgetown held the Friars without a field goal for 8:24 of the first half and pushed the lead to as many as 14 points, 24-10, on a baseline jumper from Porter with 4:09 remaining in the half. The lead was still 14 points, 27-13, after a three-pointer from freshman guard Jabril Trawick (Philadelphia, Pa./Abington Friends) with 2:44 on the clock, but the Friars would use a 6-0 run over the final minutes of the half and pulled to within 27-19 on a layup from Council on the last possession for Providence before intermission.

The Hoyas shot a season-low 30.5 percent from the floor (18-of-59), the lowest in a win in eight years under Head Coach John Thompson III. GU shot 17.6 percent from three-point land (3-of-17) and was 10-of-15 from the free throw line (66.7%).

Georgetown opens the New Year on Wednesday, Jan. 4, hosting BIG EAST rival Marquette at Verizon Center. Tipoff at Verizon Center is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be shown on ESPNU and can be heard locally on ESPN 980 AM.