Turnovers prove costly against Cincinnati No. 11 Georgetown paid dearly for a season high-matching 17 turnovers that canceled out a superb night shooting in their second straight defeat, a 68-64 upset loss to Cincinnati.
The Hoyas (13-3, 3-2 Big East) returned to the comforting confines of Verizon Center following their first loss in 12 games and shot 59.1 percent from the field, their third-best performance of the season. The Bearcats (13-4, 3-1) responded with 13 steals, but it was Otto Porter simply stepping on the line that forfeited Georgetown’s chance to take the lead with 7.2 seconds remaining.
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Cashmere Wright scored his only points of the night on a pair of free throws with 1:07 to play to put Cincinnati ahead for good and complement a career-high 27 points from Sean Kilpatrick and 22 points from Dion Dixon.
Jason Clark (14 points) was 6-for-7 from the field and Hollis Thompson (14 points) was 5-for-6 for the Hoyas, who held the lead for most of the second half. Georgetown had its biggest advantage at 59-53 on a putback by Nate Lubick (season high-matching eight points, eight rebounds, three assists) with 6:31 to play.
But the Hoyas then committed four of their 17 turnovers on their next five possessions, allowing Yancy Gates (eight points) to respond with a dunk and two free throws to put the Bearcats ahead 60-59 with 2:12 left.
Gates was back into starting lineup for first time since Dec. 10, a span of eight games that started with a six-game suspension for his involvement in a brawl with Xavier. While the Hoyas got out to an early 9-2 lead, Gates missed his first two shots, both layups, as Cincinnati hit only one of its first 10 attempts from the field.
The Bearcats then went on a 14-2 run in which they connected on five straight from the field while Georgetown committed four turnovers in six possessions.
Thompson had 11 of the Hoyas’ final 14 points of the first half, the last a buzzer-beating 3-pointer off the glass. It was his fourth of four 3-point attempts as he went into the break a perfect 5-for-5 from the field. But he didn’t score in the second half, attempting just one shot.
