Jan. 12, 2011
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WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University men's basketball team cut a second half deficit to 11 points late in the game but could get no closer and the Hoyas lost their second-straight league game at home and third-straight overall, falling to Pittsburgh, 72-57, in front of 15,712 fans at Verizon Center.
Georgetown falls to 12-5 overall and 1-4 in the BIG EAST Conference, while Pittsburgh improves to 16-1 overall and 4-0 in league play.
Senior guard Chris Wright (Bowie, Md./St. John's College H.S. [D.C.]) scored 14 points and had four assists to lead the Hoyas, while from Senior forward Julian Vaughn (Reston, Va./Oak Hill Academy) added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds and senior guard Austin Freeman (Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha) chipped in 12 points.
The Hoyas trailed by 20 points, 57-37, midway through the second half and used a 12-3 run to pull within 11 points, 60-49, on a layup from sophomore forward Jerrelle Benimon (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier) with 5:22 to play. The Panthers responded with a three-pointer from Ashton Gibbs, who scored a game-high 22 points, and pushed the lead back to 14 points, 63-49.
A layup from Vaughn made it 63-51 with 4:26 and it was 64-52 with 3:08 remaining on one of two free throws from Wright, but the Hoyas missed a shot and turned it over on their next two possessions. A jumper from Vaughn made it 65-54 with 1:51, but Georgetown would get no closer and Pittsburgh hit four of five free throws in the final 1:27 to seal the win.
The Hoyas trailed by 17 points at the half, 41-24, and used a quick 9-6 run over the opening four minutes of the second half and pulled to within 14 points, 47-33, on a layup from sophomore forward Hollis Thompson (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) at the 16:04 mark. Pittsburgh, however, would score the next two baskets and pushed the lead back to 18 points, 51-33, on a layup from Travon Woodall and pushed the lead to 22 points, 55-33, when Nasir Robinson capped an 8-0 run with a layup at 14:36.
Georgetown still trailed by 20 points, 57-37, after a layup from Wright and were down by 18 points, 60-42, on a free throw by Brad Wannamaker with 8:15 left. The Hoyas, however, responded with a 7-0 run, started by a three-pointer from freshman forward Nate Lubick (Southboro, Mass./St. Marks), followed by free throws from Wright and pulled to within 11 points, 60-49, on a layup from. Benimon.
The first half was tight in the early going, with a three-pointer from Freeman tying the game at 3-all and a layup from Wright tying it at 5-all. A jumper from Wannamaker and free throws from Brown gave Pittsburgh a 9-5 lead and by the 10:53 mark, a Gibbs three-pointer pushed the lead to double digits, 19-9.
A layup from Freeman at the 8:13 mark cut the Pittsburgh lead to 24-11 with 8:13 to play in the half, ending a span of 4:48 without a field goal. Freeman hit a three-pointer with 6:32 left to cut the lead to 28-16 and a layup from Wright made it 38-24 at the half.
The Hoyas shot a season-low 38.0 percent from the floor (19-of-50) and hit 25.0 percent of their three-pointers (5-of-20) and 56.0 percent of their free throws (14-of-25). Pitt held a 34-32 advantage on the boards, handed out only five assists and committed nine turnovers.
Georgetown hits the road for the next two games, beginning with a BIG EAST road game on Saturday, Jan. 15 at Rutgers. Tipoff at the Louis Brown Athletic Center is slated for noon. The game will be shown live on ESPNU and can be heard locally on ESPN 980 AM.
