Hoyas tame Bulls, score broadly

This is an official press release

Big Second Half Leads No. 14 Georgetown Past South Florida, 75-45

WASHINGTON - No. 14 Georgetown used a big second half and put five players in double figures in scoring for the first time in two years en route to a 75-45 win over South Florida in front of 11,916 fans at Verizon Center Saturday afternoon.

It was the second-straight win, and the fourth in the last five games for the Hoyas, who improve to 18-4 overall and 8-3 in BIG EAST play, while the Bulls fall to 13-10 overall and 6-4 in the league.

The 30-point win was the largest win over a BIG EAST opponent since Georgetown beat St. John's, 74-42, during the 2007-08 season. It was also the first time Georgetown put five players in double figures since a 103-90 win over Villanova during the 2009-10 season.

Senior center Henry Sims (Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph) scored 13 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had five assists to lead the team, while freshman forward Otto Porter (Sikeston, Mo./Scott County Central) scored 12 points, had four rebounds and four assists and senior guard Jason Clark (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) added 11 points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) added 10 points and four rebounds and freshman guard Jabril Trawick (Philadelphia, Pa./Abington Friends) added 10 points, two assists and two steals.

The Hoyas led by only eight points, 23-15, at the break, but used a hot-shooting second half, connecting on 15-of-23 field goals in the second half (65.52%). The 52 points marked the first time the team scored 50 in a half against a BIG EAST opponent since scoring 50 in the second half of an 86-75 win over DePaul on Jan. 1, 2011.

Georgetown opened the second half with a 16-4 run over the first 6:30 and took a 39-19 lead on a pair of Sims free throws with 13:30 to play in the game.

South Florida closed to within 15 points, 41-26, on free throws from Augustus Gilchrist with 9:32 left in the game, but an 18-8 run from Georgetown over the next four minutes gave the Hoyas a 59-34 lead on a pair of free throws from Porter with 5:17 to play.

A three-pointer from Trawick with 57 seconds left gave the Hoyas a 73-42 lead and a dunk from redshirt freshman Aaron Bowen (Jacksonville, Fla./QEA) provided the final margin.

The Hoyas finished the game shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (23-of-46), hit 41.7 percent of their three-pointers (5-of-12) and were 80.0 percent from the free throw line (24-of-30).

Georgetown held a 34-27 advantage on the boards and handed out 16 assists while committing only nine turnovers.

It was the eighth time this season Georgetown shot at least 50 percent from the floor (7-1 in those games) and it was the 10th time the team handed out at least 15 assists (10-0 in those games).

The 52 second half points were the most for Georgetown against a BIG EAST opponent since scoring 53 in the second half against Villanova during the 2009-10 season.

Georgetown travels to play at Syracuse on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Tipoff at the Carrier Dome is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be shown live on ESPN, with Brent Musberger and Bob Knight calling the action. The game can be heard locally on ESPN 980 AM.