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Top-Seeded Georgetown Hangs on to Beat No. 9 Villanova, 62-57, in Quarterfinals of BIG EAST Tournament
March 8, 2007
Complete Boxscore in PDF Format
Post-Game Quotes in PDF Format
Cumulative Statistics in PDF Format
New York, N.Y. - Top-seeded Georgetown opened up a 19-point lead at halftime, withstood a late run and hit eight of 10 free throws in the final five minutes to hang on and beat ninth-seeded Villanova, 62-57, in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament Thursday afternoon. It was the 12th win in the last 13 games for the Hoyas, who improved to 24-6 overall, while Villanova falls to 22-10. The Hoyas advance to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament for the 18th time in program history. The team will face the winners of this afternoon's game between Notre Dame and Syracuse on Friday, March 9 at 7 p.m. Villanova, who trailed by as many as 25 points in the first half, made a run in the second half and pulled to within five points, 59-54, with 27.9 seconds left, but sophomore guard Jessie Sapp (New York, N.Y./National Christian Academy) hit one of two free throws with 26.4 seconds left and after freshman forward DaJuan Summers (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) blocked a shot from Villanova's Curtis Sumpter that could have cut the lead. On the ensuing possession, Sapp found junior Roy Hibbert (Adelphi, Md./Georgetown Prep) underneath the basket for a dunk with 7.1 seconds left to seal the win. Hibbert scored a team-high 14 points to lead four players in double figures, grabbing two rebounds, blocking two shots and adding two assists. Junior forward Jeff Green (Hyattsville, Md./Northwestern) added 12 points and nine rebounds, junior guard Jonathan Wallace (Harvest, Ala./Sparkman) scored 10 points, handed out five assists and grabbed four rebounds, Summers tallied 10 points and four boards and Sapp chipped in eight points, six assist and four rebounds. The Hoyas used one of their best halves of the season to open up a 19-point lead (37-18) at halftime. Eight different players scored at least two points and the Blue and Gray had 13 assists in 16 baskets during the opening 20 minutes. The team connected on 55.2 percent of its shots from the field (16-of-29), held a 20-11 advantage on the glass and committed only two turnovers. Villanova used an early second half run to cut the lead to 10 points, 39-29, after a three-pointer from Scottie Reynolds with 14:37 to play. The Hoyas were held to only one field goal in the first six-plus minutes of the second half, but used an 11-4 spurt over a span of 4:03 to push the lead back to 17 points, 50-33, after a hook shot from Hibbert. Green, who scored the team's first basket of the second half, connected on a pull-up jumper and Summers hit a three to make it 44-29. After baskets from Reggie Redding and Curtis Sumpter cut the lead to 44-33, the Hoyas came back with a three from Wallace, a free throw from junior Patrick Ewing (Marietta, Ga./National Christian Academy) and Hibbert's hook shot to push the lead back to 17 points. The Wildcats scored seven-straight points and pulled to within 10 (50-40) on a driving layup from Reynolds with 6:29 to play, but a three-pointer from Wallace and free throws from Green pushed the lead to 12 points, 55-43, and the Hoyas hit 8-of-10 free throws in the final five minutes to move on. After missing the first shot of the game, the Hoyas connected on nine-straight baskets and two free throws, taking a 22-2 lead on one of two free throws from Wallace after Villanova's Jay Wright was assessed with a technical foul. Freshman forward missed a three to star the game, but followed with a three from the right of the arc to put the Hoyas on the board. Thanks to a pair of Hibbert blocks and four Villanova turnovers, Georgetown scored on consecutive layups from Hibbert, three-pointers from Summers and Wallace, a Hibbert dunk and two free throws from Wallace, extending the margin to 22-2 with 11:14 to play in the half. The Wildcats, meanwhile, hit only one field goal through the first 11 minutes of action. After a three-pointer from Reggie Redding, Hibbert scored on a dunk and Green converted a layup as the lead grew to 26-2. Villanova used an 11-5 run over the final 6:21 and narrowed the gap to 37-18 at the break. Georgetown shot 42.6 percent from the floor (23-of-54), hit 29.2 percent of their three-pointers (7-of-24) and 60.0 percent of its free throws (9-of-15). They held a 38-32 advantage on the boards, handed out 18 assists and committed only nine turnovers.
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