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Thompson leads No.16 Georgetown past Memphis

Dec 23, 2011 - 4:55 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Jason Clark scored 18 points with four steals and Hollis Thompson recorded 17 points and nine rebounds as No. 16 Georgetown defeated Memphis, 70-59.

17 Turnovers plagued Memphis in its first confrontation with the Hoyas, a 91-88 overtime loss in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational in November. It was the same story in Washington, D.C. as the Tigers this time turned the ball over 18 times.

"It's always good to beat a team two times in a row," Clark said. "That's the type of game we're going to be playing when we get into the Big East so this will boost our confidence."

Markel Starks scored 14 points and Henry Sims netted 12 points with nine rebounds for Georgetown (10-1), which won its eighth straight game.

Chris Crawford had 17 points and five assists, while Will Barton chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers (6-5), who have lost three of their last four games.

"No one in there is happy to be 6-5," Memphis head coach Josh Pastner said. "Have we played a tough schedule? Darn right. But we're too good to be sitting at 6-5. We're going to find a way to take this into a positive. We have no other option."

Thompson's left-handed layup gave Georgetown a 54-34 lead with 12 minutes left, but the Tigers wouldn't go away. They used a 15-5 run to cut the deficit to 59-49 with eight minutes to go. Adonis Thomas scored six points during the stretch.

Will Barton had a chance to make it a six-point game with a pair of free throws, but missed the front end of the 1-and-1. Sims connected on a pair of free throws on the other end and Georgtown led, 68-58, with 1 1/2 minutes left. The Hoyas made a couple clutch free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

After Will Barton made a fadeaway jumper to make it 6-4, the Hoyas went on a 9-2 run capped by a quick spin move and floater in the lane by Thompson for a 15-6 lead with under 13 minutes remaining in the first half.

The Tigers battled back and slowly chipped away at the deficit before knotting the game at 23 when Antonio Barton feeded Ferrakohn Hall for a slam with seven minutes remaining.

But the Hoyas closed the half strong, scoring the last six points highlighted by a Sims dunk in transition with 11 seconds left, giving the hosts a 35-28 lead into the locker room.

The momentum the Hoyas generated at the end of the first half transitioned to the start of the second half as Clark capped the 13-0 run with a pull-up jumper in the lane for a 42-28 advantage with just over 18 minutes remaining.

Game Notes

Georgetown leads the all-time series 10-2...The Tigers have lost 11 straight games against ranked opponents...Memphis has never beaten Georgetown at the Verizon Center...Memphis turned the ball over 10 times in the first half...The Tigers connected on just 3-of-13 attempts from beyond the arc.