• Recap
• Bleachers

Hoyas hold off Friars for sixth straight win

Feb 6, 2011 - 12:29 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Austin Freeman scored 23 points and Jason Clark added 18, as 13th-ranked Georgetown held off a late Providence charge and extended its winning streak to six straight with an 83-81 victory at the Verizon Center.

Chris Wright chipped in 16 points and hit just enough free throws down the stretch for the Hoyas (18-5, 7-4 Big East), who haven't lost since a 72-57 drubbing on January 12 against Pittsburgh. Julian Vaughn contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.

Marshon Brooks poured in a career-high 43 points and added 10 rebounds for Providence (14-10, 3-8), which had won three of its previous four games. The Friars posted wins over ranked opponents Louisville and Villanova during that surge and nearly pulled off another stunner on Saturday.

Georgetown never trailed and led by as many as 18 early in the second half, but Providence roared back and made it interesting in the final minute.

Wright made only the first of two free throws with 19.5 seconds left to give Georgetown an 80-77 lead and Providence went for the quick two as Brooks drove to the basket to make it a one-point difference.

Again Wright was fouled and this time he hit both from the stripe with 9.4 seconds left. Brooks was fouled with 6.4 seconds to play and sank both free throws to again draw Providence within one and Wright knocked down only the second of two from the line with 5.5 seconds remaining for a two-point margin.

Georgetown then pressured on the inbound to Brooks, who was quickly double- teamed and turned it over as he reached the mid-court line with time expiring.

"Jason was guarding him (Brooks) and he was coming hard down the left and I was just hoping that Jason would turn him," Wright said of the final play. "I think everybody in the gym knew that he was going to shoot the ball so I just left my man, kept my eyes on the ball and tried to make a play."

Brooks was sensational in defeat, hitting 17-of-28 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the line. He finished with the highest-scoring output in Big East play this season.

Georgetown scored the first six points of the second half to turn a 12-point lead into a 52-34 cushion, but Providence didn't go away. Still trailing by 14, the Friars stormed back with a 15-3 run as Brooks' three-point play with just under eight minutes left made it a 63-61 game.

Vaughn then came up with a dunk off an inbounds pass and converted the ensuing free throw to breathe life back into the Hoyas, but the Friars continued to keep it close.

Trailing by eight, Brooks was fouled while making a long three-pointer and hit the ensuing free throw to again pull the Friars within four with 3:07 left. Brooks had a chance to make it closer on the next Providence possession, but missed from beyond the arc and Georgetown followed by turning it over with a 4-on-1 break.

After Freeman hit two from the line, Duke Mondy converted an acrobatic shot into a three-point play to make it 77-74 with just over a minute to play. Freeman canned two more from the line before Bryce Cotton took a feed from Brooks and drilled a three-pointer to pull Providence within two with 34 seconds left to set up the final dramatics.

Georgetown led from the start, as Freeman, Wright and Clark hit three-pointers on each of the Hoyas' first three possessions for a 9-4 edge. A Freeman jumper extended the advantage to 25-16 with just under nine minutes left in the half.

Providence answered with a 9-4 spurt to draw within 29-25, but Clark buried a three-pointer and Wright added another from beyond the arc after a Brooks free throw to push the Georgetown lead back to 35-26. Clark hit two more threes in the final two minutes to send the Hoyas into the break with a 46-34 edge.

The Hoyas connected on 8-of-15 three-point tries in the opening 20 minutes and Clark finished with 14 first-half points. Brooks kept Providence in it by scoring 24 of the team's 34 points.

Game Notes

Brooks posted his seventh double-double of the season. His previous career best was 33 points...The last Providence player to reach 40 points was Eric Murdock, who scored 48 on January 23, 1991 against Pittsburgh...Mondy finished with 19 points for Providence...Georgetown was 0-for-11 from three-point range in the second half...The Hoyas lead the all-time series between the original Big East members, 40-19...Georgetown next visits Syracuse on Wednesday, while Providence is off until a trip next Sunday to Connecticut.