Bearcats fall to Hoyas
WASHINGTON (AP)—Jessie Sapp scored 16 points and Austin Freeman added 13 to lead No. 12 Georgetown to a 73-53 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday.
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The win moved the Hoyas (22-4, 12-3) into sole possession of first place in the Big East. No. 18 Louisville (21-6, 11-3) plays at Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas' leading scorer and rebounder, had 12 points and five blocked shots—one short of his career high—as Georgetown won its 19th straight game at the Verizon Center.
John Williamson and Deonta Vaughn both had 13 points for the Bearcats (13-13, 8-6), who were seeking their season-high fourth straight win but instead suffered their worst loss of the season.
Cincinnati scored the first four points of the game, but the Hoyas scored the next 10 and outscored the Bearcats 32-14 to take a 32-18 lead with 2:27 remaining in the first half.
Cincinnati's offense was stifled by the Hoyas' swarming defense. Hibbert, who blocked a career-high six shots in Georgetown's win over Providence on Monday, had four blocks in the first half. The Bearcats missed nine of their first 11 shots from the field and didn't make their third field goal until 7:23 remained in the half.
Only hot shooting by Vaughn, who hit three 3-pointers in the final minutes of the half, kept the game relatively close. Jamual Warren's layup with a second to play in the first half to cut the Hoyas' lead to 34-27. The Bearcats hit six of their final nine field goals attempts in the half.
Williamson opened the second half with a layup to cut the lead to 34-29, but the Hoyas went on a 16-4 run highlighted by six points each from Hibbert and Sapp.
As a timeout was called with 15:51 remaining, Sapp and Williamson began jawing and both teams swarmed onto the court. Both players were assessed technical fouls.