No. 21 Georgetown Handles Cincinnati With Ease, 76-57

Jan. 28, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) - Jeff Green had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and No. 21 Georgetown pulled away early to beat Cincinnati 76-57 Saturday for its fourth straight win.

Back home for the first time since their upset over then-No. 1 Duke, the Hoyas held the Bearcats to 35 percent shooting and led by at least 16 points the entire second half. Brandon Bowman scored 12 points, and Jonathan Wallace added 10 in another balanced Georgetown effort.

The Hoyas (14-4, 5-2 Big East) vaulted into the national rankings after beating the Blue Devils last Saturday, then survived a double-overtime thriller at Notre Dame on Tuesday. The win over Cincinnati was much more comfortable: The Hoyas trailed only twice, at 2-0 and 4-3, and led by double digits for the final 30 minutes.

James White scored 22 points to lead Cincinnati (14-7, 3-4), which has lost five of six. The Bearcats nearly set season lows in points and field goal percentage for the second straight game, performing only slightly better than the 50-point, 30 percent effort in Wednesday's 17-point loss to Louisville.

Georgetown is the only BIG EAST school with five players averaging in double figures, and the share-the-wealth style was evident from the opening tip. All five starters scored a basket each to get the Hoyas off to an 11-4 lead, a run that extended to 28-11 after Darrel Owens and Green hit consecutive 3-pointers.

All seven Georgetown players who got on the court had scored by halftime, when the Hoyas lead 36-20.

There was more of the same after the break. The first six Hoyas baskets were scored by six different players. Bowman flipped a blind reverse layup over his shoulder to push the lead to 20.

White tried to keep the Bearcats competitive - he scored 10 of Cincinnati's first 13 points to start the second half - but Georgetown answered each time. A 3-pointer from Jessie Sapp with 10:10 to play put the Hoyas ahead 62-35, their biggest lead of the game.

Unable to get consistent penetration, Cincinnati had to rely on its spotty outside shooting. The Bearcats went 1-for-12 from 3-point range in the first half and shot only 24 percent from the field for the half.

Coach Andy Kennedy shook up the lineup by starting Jihad Muhammad ahead of Chadd Moore, but Muhammad scored only two points on 1-for-10 shooting.

It was first meeting between Georgetown and BIG EAST newcomer Cincinnati.

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