Balanced Attack Leads No. 13 Georgetown Past DePaul, 67-50

Jan. 3, 2010

Rosemont, Ill. - Junior guards Chris Wright (Bowie, Md./St. John's College HS) and Austin Freeman (Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha) combined to score 35 points to lead four players in double figures as No. 13 Georgetown connected on 57.1 percent of its field goals en route to a 67-50 win over DePaul in front of 8,595 fans at Allstate Arena Sunday afternoon. It was the third-straight win for the Hoyas, who improved to 11-1 overall and 2-0 in the BIG EAST, while DePaul falls to 7-7 overall and 0-2 in league play.

Wright hit 7-of-10 shots from the field to finish with a game-high 18 points, while Freeman scored 17 points, connecting on 7-of-12 shots from the field and 3-of-5 three-point field goals, adding four assists and three rebounds. Sophomore center Greg Monroe (New Orleans, La./Helen Cox) scored 10 points, handed out a game-high five assists, had four rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Sophomore guard Jason Clark (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) finished with 13 points, two rebounds and two assists.

The Hoyas led by 10 points, 35-25, and maintained that margin through much of the second half. The lead was 44-34 when Georgetown used a 9-2 spurt over 3:20, extending its lead to 53-36, on a jumper from Freeman with 7:20 to play in the game. The Blue Demons would pull back to within 53-42 on a dunk from Eric Wallace with 4:45 to play, but Clark responded with a three-pointer, making it 56-42 with 4:21.

Georgetown took its biggest lead, 67-47, on a three-pointer from Clark with 27 seconds left in the game.

The Hoyas jumped on top early in the first half, scoring the first two baskets - layups from Monroe and Freeman - and forcing DePaul to call a timeout just 68 seconds into the game. A basket from Vaughn pushed the Georgetown lead to 9-2, but DePaul fought back and forced a 9-all tie after a three-pointer from Mario Stula.

Georgetown, however, used a 13-2 run over 3:33 and took its biggest lead of the half, 22-11, on pair of Monroe free throws with 10:37 left in the half. Monroe scored seven points during the run, while Clark and Wright each added three-pointers.

The Blue Demons narrowed the gap to five points, 22-17, after a 6-0 run, all from Mac Koshwal, but the Hoyas responded, with a jumper from Freeman and a three from Clark pushing the margin back to eight points, 27-19. Koshwal, who scored 12 points in the first half, hit two more baskets and Jeremiah Kelly added two free throws to pull within two points, 27-25 with 3:37 to play.

Georgetown, however, used an 8-0 run to close out the first half to take a 10-point lead, 35-25, at the break. Clark hit 1-of-2 free throws, freshman guard Hollis Thompson (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) hit a layup and Wright finished it with a layup and a three-pointer.

The Hoyas hit 57.1 percent of their field goals (24-of-42), connected on 47.1 percent of their three-pointers (8-of-17) and hit 61.1 percent from the free throw line (11-of-18). GU held a 28-24 advantage on the boards, handed out 18 assists and committed 12 turnovers.

Junior Julian Vaughn (Vienna, Va./Oak Hill Academy) added five points and seven rebounds, while Thompson added four points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals in 20 minutes off the bench.

Georgetown continues its Midwest road trip this week, visiting BIG EAST rival Marquette on Wednesday, Jan. 6. Tipoff at the Bradley Center is slated for 8 p.m. (ET). The game will be shown live on MASN with Eric Collins and Mike Kelly calling the action. It can be heard locally on ESPN 980 AM, with Rich Chvotkin providing the play-by-play.

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