Jan. 21, 2006

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Highlights

Washington, D.C. - Georgetown senior Brandon Bowman (Santa Monica, Calif./Westchester) scored 23 points to lead five players in double figures as the Hoyas upset No. 1-ranked Duke in front of a sold out crowd of 20,035 at the MCI Center on Saturday afternoon. It was the first win for a Georgetown team over a team ranked No. 1 in the country since beating St. John's on February 27, 1985.

The win improves Georgetown's record to 12-4 overall, while the Blue Devils fall to 17-1.

The Hoyas hit four of six free throws in the final 39 seconds and forced a turnover from Duke freshman guard Greg Paulus with four seconds left to seal the win.

Georgetown led by 14 points at halftime and maintained that lead through the first eight minutes of the second half. Duke narrowed the gap to eight points, 66-58, on a layup from J.J. Redick - who scored a game-high 41 points - with 8:58 to play in the game.

The Hoyas bumped the lead back up to nine points, 68-59, on a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Jonathan Wallace (Harvest, Ala./Sparkman) and the lead was again nine points, 70-61, after senior guard Ashanti Cook (Inglewood, Calif./Westchester) hit a pair of free throws with 6:15 to play.

Redick hit a three and a jumper, Jamal Boykin had a putback and Shelden Williams added a layup in a 34 second stretch to pull the Blue Devils within two points, 74-72, with 4:05 to play. However, the Hoyas forced two turnovers and got a layup from Wallace and a fast-break dunk from senior guard Darrel Owens (Napoleonville, La./Assumption) as the lead grew back to six points, 78-72, with 2:09 to play. Sophomore forward Jeff Green (Hyattsville, Md./Northwestern) hit one of two free throws with 1:44 to play to make it seven points, 79-72.

A dunk by Bowman with 1:15 to play gave the Hoyas an eight-point lead, 82-74, and the lead was at seven points (85-78) after Bowman hit two free throws. Sean Dockery hit a fast break layup and Paulus got a steal and a layup to pull within three points, 85-82, with 22 seconds to play, but Bowman and Wallace hit one of two from the line before forcing the final turnover as Georgetown hung on for the thrilling win.

The Hoyas, behind a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000, had the crowd rocking after hitting the first two baskets of the game, a tip-in from sophomore center Roy Hibbert (Adelphi, Md./Georgetown Prep) and a layup from Bowman. The game was tied at 8-all when the Hoyas scored eight-straight points over a 2:43 span - seven of them from Bowman - and took an 18-8 lead with 11:52 to play in the first half.

Duke went on its own run, outscoring Georgetown 14-4 over a 4:01 span, and tied it on a three from Redick with 7:51 to play before the break. The Hoyas, who hit 66.7 percent of their first half shots (16-of-24), broke a 23-all tie with a Wallace layup and outscored the Blue Devils, 19-5, over the remainder and took a 42-28 lead into the locker room. Owens scored seven and Wallace chipped in four during the run.

Georgetown connected on 61.5 percent of its field goals (32-of-52), 42.9 percent of its three-pointers (6-of-14) and 70.8 percent of its free throws (17-of-24). The Hoyas controlled the boards, grabbing 29 to Duke's 26, and forced the Blue Devils into 15 turnovers, while committing 16. Georgetown also handed out a season-high 24 assists.

Duke was led by Redick, who scored 41 points, connecting on 12-of-24 shots from the field and 6-of-11 from outside the arc. Paulus added 14 points and four assists and Dockery added 10 points. The Blue Devils shot 51.7 percent from the field (30-of-58), 47.4 percent from three-point land (9-of-19) and 75.0 percent from the free throw line (15-of-20).

Georgetown scored a season-high 87 points, the most by a Hoya team under second-year head coach John Thompson III.

Bowman scored a season-high 23 points, connecting on 8-of-12 shots from the field, and had a team-high eight rebounds to go with three blocks. Green added 18 points and a season-high seven assists, while Cook finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. Wallace added 12 points and six assists and Owens finished with 13 points and five assists.

Georgetown returns to league action on Tuesday, playing at BIG EAST rival Notre Dame at the Joyce Convocation Center in South Bend, Indiana. The game will be shown live on ESPNU and can be heard locally on SportsTalk 980 AM.