Georgetown 69, South Floirda 49
The question Wednesday wasn’t whether Georgetown could build a sizable lead over South Florida in the Hoyas’ first game of the 2010 Big East Tournament, but whether they could sustain it.
They did, overcoming foul trouble and a relentless Dominique Jones to beat the Bulls 69-49 at Madison Square Garden.
With that answered, the question Thursday becomes this: Are the Hoyas up for the challenge of avenging a pair of losses against Syracuse when the two meet in the Big East quarterfinals?
Georgetown fell short of coming all the way back from a 23-point deficit against the Orange at Verizon Center on Feb. 18. The Hoyas suffered their worst defeat of the season 73-56 at the Carrier Dome on Jan. 25. Syracuse, the favorite to win the Big East Tournament, is a likely No. 1 seed when the NCAA Tournament opens next week.
On Wednesday, the Hoyas, who relinquished a 13-point lead in an upset loss to the Bulls a month ago, kept South Florida at arm’s length for most of the afternoon. Jones had 21 points and five assists, but USF (20-12) struggled shooting and got no closer than six points early in the second half after trailing at halftime 31-19.
Jason Clark hit four of six attempts from beyond the arc to pace the Hoyas (21-9) with 16 points. Greg Monroe, one of four Georgetown players who finished with at least four fouls, also had 16 points and eight rebounds.
Chris Wright (15 points) scored eight of Georgetown’s first 12 points in transition with a layup, a 3-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play for a 12-6 lead.
A trio of 3s from Clark pushed the Hoyas in front by as many as 14 points before halftime. The Bulls didn’t help themselves, hitting 27 percent (8-for-29) of their shots from the field in the first half and going 1-for-10 from 3-point range in the contest.
Jones missed five his first six shots but scored South Florida’s final 10 points of the half and led all scorers with 12 points at the break. He assisted on South Florida’s first four field goals of the second half before Georgetown used an 11-5 run to push the lead back into double digits.
