• Recap
• Bleachers

Hoyas beat DePaul behind Freeman, Clark

Jan 1, 2011 - 8:35 PM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Austin Freeman and Jason Clark each poured in 21 points as No. 9 Georgetown outlasted Big East foe DePaul, 86-75, at Verizon Center.

Chris Wright chipped in with 17 points and seven assists to help the Hoyas (12-2, 1-1 Big East) bounce back from a 69-55 loss to Notre Dame in their Big East opener on Wednesday. Julian Vaughn added 10 rebounds and nine points.

Cleveland Melvin posted a game-best 29 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Blue Demons (6-8, 0-2), who have dropped two straight. Tony Freeland had 24 points and eight rebounds in a losing effort.

Vaughn gave Georgetown a 46-35 lead with a booming dunk three minutes into the second half. After two Blue Demon lay ups, Freeman drilled a three to make it a 10-point game.

However, DePaul stuck around with a six-point spurt, aided by Melvin's jumper and layup to trim the deficit to 51-50 with 14 minutes remaining.

Georgetown, though, never relinquished its lead by making its shots from the free throw line; an eight-point spurt late in the half put the Hoyas ahead, 79-65, with 2:40 remaining.

The lead wasn't threatened the rest of the way.

The Hoyas jumped to a 11-3 advantage to start the game thanks to Austin Freeman's seven straight points. DePaul clawed its way back by scoring five straight points to make it an 18-15 contest midway through the period.

With five minutes remaining, Georgetown scored six of eight points -- four on two Clark layups -- to extend its lead to eight, 31-23. The Hoyas held a 36-29 lead at the half.

Game Notes

Georgetown has won its last 10 meetings with DePaul and owns a commanding 19-6 advantage in the all-time series...The Blue Demons made just one three pointer (1-for-8), while Georgetown went 5-for-14.