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Wright, Freeman lead Hoyas over DePaul

Jan 3, 2010 - 10:12 PM By RICK GANO AP Sports Writer

ROSEMONT, Ill.(AP) -- Georgetown's success is all about sharing. Pass the ball on offense to the open man and help out your teammates on defense. It's how the Hoyas win, a style that coach John Thompson III demands.

"As a group this is how we have to do things all year," Thompson said after the No. 13 Hoyas picked up the defense in the second half and used balanced scoring to beat DePaul 67-50 on Sunday.

"They are very skilled and do an outstanding job of sharing the ball and being very opportunistic," DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright said. "When you make a mistake, they are going to make a basket."

Chris Wright scored 18 points and Austin Freeman had 17 for the Hoyas, who had four players in double figures and shot 57 percent.

Georgetown (11-1, 2-0) led by 10 at halftime and then pulled away. The Hoyas entered having allowed 58 points per game and they gave up only 25 in each half to the struggling Blue Demons, holding them to 39 percent shooting.

It was Georgetown's ninth straight victory over the Blue Demons.

"This is the Big East. To get a road win is as good as it gets," said Thompson, who was unhappy with his team's defense in the first half. "I think we will get better and that's part of it," he added.

DePaul (7-7, 0-2), led by Mac Koshwal's 16 points, has lost 21 straight Big East regular-season games, dating to March 2008.

"I know it's the same old song, but it is hard to keep defending when you don't score," Wainwright said.

DePaul's leading scorer Will Walker was held to nine points - seven under his average - on 3-of-14 shooting.

"As a group we were very attentive to Will," Thompson said.

"We just tried to outplay them, outwork them," Freeman said. "It was just something our whole team was focused on."

DePaul had whittled an 11-point deficit to two before the Hoyas scored the final eight points of the half for a 35-25 lead. Wright hit a 3-pointer as he was falling down with about 8 seconds left, capping the run.

Georgetown built the lead to 13 in the second half, holding DePaul to two baskets in the first 5 minutes. When Hollis Thompson got inside for a basket and Freeman made a 3-pointer on a nice pass from Wright, Georgetown was up 49-34 with 9:27 left.

Moments later, Wright caught the Blue Demons napping on an inbounds pass and hit a layup to push the lead to 17.

DePaul made a mini-run to cut it to 11 with just under 4 minutes left, but Freeman hit a 3-pointer. The Blue Demons didn't get closer.

"What is most disappointing is the way they scored at the end," Wainwright said.

Greg Monroe had seven points, and Wright and Jason Clark made 3-pointers in a 13-2 spurt that put the Hoyas ahead by 11 midway through the first half.

Koshwal had 12 first-half points, and his strong play on the inside against the tough Hoyas' defense kept the Blue Demons close. It was the 6-foot-10 Koshwal's third game back after missing eight because of a foot injury.