No. 12 Georgetown Clips Cincinnati 75-65
Jeff Green scored 21 points and had a tone-setting block Wednesday night, helping No. 12 Georgetown extend its winning streak to 10 games with a 75-65 victory over Cincinnati.
The Hoyas (21-5, 11-2 Big East) took control with a 13-point run late in the first half, and the league's toughest defense held off its worst team. Cincinnati (10-17, 1-2) has dropped nine in a row, its longest losing streak in 23 years.
Seven-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert and the 6-foot-9 Green have sparked Georgetown's best winning streak since it opened the 2003-04 season 10-0. This time, they had a lot of help from their surrounding cast.
Jonathan Wallace added 17 points, and freshman Jeremiah Rivers had consecutive 3s during the 13-point run that put Georgetown ahead to stay.
Green and Hibbert put an exclamation on the win in the closing minutes. Green emphatically blocked Deonta Vaughn's attempt at a layup, and Hibbert finished the ensuing fastbreak with a tip-in.
Vaughn led Cincinnati with 19 points.
Hibbert had the best game of his career against the Bearcats last month, scoring a career-high 26 points and matching his career high with 11 rebounds in an 82-67 win. The Bearcats' zone defense geared up to stop Hibbert, who scored only three points in the first half and fouled out with seven points and nine rebounds.
Cincinnati had the extreme challenge of facing the Big East's top offense and its top defense in back-to-back games. The Bearcats lost to high-scoring Notre Dame 76-64 on Sunday, and couldn't sustain much against a Hoyas defense that allows only 56.1 points per game.
The Bearcats made their first five 3-point shots for a 17-7 lead, their first double-digit advantage in three games. During that time, Hibbert got only one shot off against a defense that double- and triple-teamed him inside.
Hibbert's bank shot for his first basket cut the lead to 26-24, and the Hoyas finally pulled ahead with a 13-point run led by a freshman reserve. Rivers hit consecutive 3s, the second after he looked to pass but found himself unguarded and decided to let it fly.
With those two shots, Rivers matched his career high of six points.
Wallace also hit a 3-pointer and stole an inbound pass for a layup during the run, which helped Georgetown forge a 36-31 halftime lead. Cincinnati hasn't led at halftime in any Big East game this season _ its last such advantage was against Miami of Ohio on Dec. 27.
Hibbert's 17-foot jumper pushed the lead to 42-32 early in the second half. Cincinnati then played a little defense of its own, putting on a full-court press that forced turnovers and set up a seven-point spurt.
Jessie Sapp hit a pair of driving shots during an eight-point run that built the lead to 54-43 midway through the half. Cincinnati never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.