Dec. 17, 2011
Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2
Georgetown 81, American 55 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2011 PLEASE CONTACT: MIKE "MEX" CAREY, 202-687-2475
Starks Leads No. 16 Georgetown Past American, 81-55
WASHINGTON - Sophomore guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) scored a career-high 18 points and led three players in double figures as No. 16 Georgetown used an early run in the second half en route to an 81-55 win over American in front of 9,964 fans at Verizon Center Saturday afternoon.
It was the seventh-straight win for the Hoyas, who improved to 9-1 overall, while American falls to 8-4.
Junior forward Hollis Thompson (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) scored 15 points and added eight rebounds, while senior center Henry Sims (Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph's) added 17 points and a team-high six assists. Senior guard Jason Clark (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) chipped in nine points, three rebounds and four steals, while freshman forward Otto Porter (Sikeston, Mo./Scott County Central) scored eight points and had a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Hoyas led by six points at the break (32-26), but out-scored the Eagles 49-29 in the second half and hit 67.7 percent of their second half shots (21-of-31) en route to the win. Georgetown scored 36 of its 42 points in the paint in the second half.
Sims assisted on back-door baskets on four consecutive possessions in the opening minutes after halftime, feeding sophomore forward Nate Lubick (Southborough, Mass./St. Marks), Starks, Thompson and Lubick again as the lead grew to 10 points, 40-30, with 16:52 left to play.
Sims kept coming, producing Georgetown's next score with a hook from just outside the paint. A couple of possessions later, he threw down an alley-oop slam off a pass from Starks, then completed a fast break with a layup while getting fouled. Suddenly, Georgetown was ahead 48-35 with 14:32 left. Those baskets from Sims were in the midst of a 22-6 run over 7:13 as the Hoyas took a 62-39 lead on a three-point play from freshman guard Jabril Trawick (Philadelphia, Pa./Abington Friends).
Georgetown's largest lead was 28 points, coming on a layup from Porter (79-51) with 1:23 to play.
Still in the midst of final exams, it was a sluggish start for both teams, with Georgetown holding a six-point lead at the break, 32-26. The lead changes hands six times over the opening eight minutes of the game, with a three-pointer from AU's John Schoof giving the Eagles a 5-2 lead. AU held its last lead, 10-9, on a three-pointer from Schoof with 12:16 to play.
A three-pointer from Starks, the second of three-straight shots he would hit, gave GU a 12-10, at 11:54. Just over 30 seconds later, he hit another and gave GU a 15-10 lead. AU narrowed the lead to one point, 15-14, on a layup from Schoof and free throws from Hinkle, but a 5-0 spurt form the Hoyas gave the hosts a 20-14 lead on a three-point play from Thompson.
Georgetown took its biggest lead of the half, 30-22, on a free throw from Porter with 55 seconds left and went into the break leading 32-26 after a layup from Simon McCormack with two seconds left.
The Hoyas shot 58.8 percent from the floor (30-of-51), hit 37.5 percent of their three-pointers (6-of-16) and were 75.0 percent from the line (15-of-20), while handing out 18 assists, committing 12 turnovers, with three blocks and eight steals. GU held a 34-23 advantage on the boards.
Georgetown closes out a four-game homestand on Thursday, Dec. 22, hosting Memphis at Verizon Center. Tipoff at Verizon Center is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be shown live on ESPN2, with Sean McDonough and Bill Raftery calling all of the action. Fans locally can tune in to ESPN 980 AM for the radio call of Rich Chvotkin.
