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Georgetown rallies to down Marquette

Jan 5, 2012 - 4:04 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Jason Clark did a lot of the scoring to help Georgetown erase a double-digit deficit in the second half. Hollis Thompson's big shots put the Hoyas over the top.

Clark scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half, and Thompson drilled a go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute to lift No. 9 Georgetown over No. 20 Marquette, 73-70, at Verizon Center.

Thompson, who finished with 16 points, also drilled a three-pointer and jumper on back-to-back possessions to tie the game with under three minutes to go. The Hoyas (13-1, 3-0 Big East) faced a 43-29 deficit at halftime and were down by 17 in the second half before rallying. They made 76 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes.

Henry Sims and Clark also made go-ahead shots before Thompson's three with 22 seconds left put Georgetown in front for good. The Hoyas held on for their 11th consecutive victory after the Golden Eagles (12-3, 1-1) missed two shots in the final moments.

Darius Johnson-Odom scored 18 points and Jae Crowder had 17 for Marquette, which has dropped three of its last five.

"It's hard to win at home or on the road, but particularly on the road when a team shoots 76 percent in the second half," said Marquette head coach Buzz Williams. "They only missed five balls, so that's really hard to overcome."

While the Golden Eagles didn't have a large lead heading down the stretch, they were still up by five with under four minutes to go. However, Thompson's shots erased the rest of the deficit.

After a defensive stop by Georgetown, he drilled a three from the left wing to make it a 66-64 contest. Johnson-Odom was then called for an offensive foul, and at the other end, Thompson hit a mid-range fallaway jumper on the right baseline.

Georgetown took the lead on its next possession. Following a turnover by Mayo, Sims drove right down the lane for a layup, facing almost no challenge by the Marquette defense.

That prompted Marquette to call a timeout, and the Golden Eagles' offense woke up with baskets by Gardner and Junior Cadougan on their next two possessions. But they couldn't stop Georgetown.

Sims fed Clark in the paint for a basket to make it 70-68, and Thompson sank his decisive three from the left corner, falling down as it rattled in.

"We say this in jest, but Hollis' confidence is always flowing and our confidence in him is always going," said Hoyas head coach John Thompson III. "So we run a play to get him a shot and it goes in, and then his teammates are trying to get him shots."

Marquette then called a timeout with 17.3 seconds to go, but didn't get a good shot. Johnson-Odom badly missed from the top of the key, and Crowder took an off-balance attempt from the left corner after grabbing the rebound.

Clark grabbed the rebound and was fouled to secure the victory. While he missed both free throws, there were only 0.7 seconds on the clock.

The Golden Eagles pulled away toward the end of the first half with a 14-1 run, which lasted more than six minutes mostly because the Hoyas had trouble scoring.

Johnson-Odom drained two long-distance shots early in the rally, while Todd Mayo scored the final six points to make it a 37-25 contest with a little more than two minutes left.

The Hoyas' scoring troubles lasted into the second half, and with about 13 minutes left, Mayo's three pushed the Marquette lead to 56-39.

But Georgetown responded with a three from Clark and a layup from Mikael Hopkins, and another three from Clark with under 10 minutes left pulled the Hoyas within 60-50.

Crowder followed with a jumper, but Marquette's offense then started to struggle in a big way in the face of Georgetown's pressure. The Golden Eagles didn't make another basket from the field until Davante Gardner sank a layup with 1 1/2 minutes to go.

That defensive effort, and some shooting success, allowed the Hoyas to tie the game.

They got within striking distance, 62-57, with a seven-point run following Crowder's basket.

Game Notes

Sims ended with 13 points for the Hoyas, who shot 50 percent in the first half but took only 22 field goal attempts...The Golden Eagles made just six field goals in the second half...Mayo scored 16 points, while Gardner added 11 in the loss.