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No. 7 Hoyas down Rutgers for 11th consecutive win

Mar 3, 2013 - 6:27 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Otto Porter Jr. poured in a game-high 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help No. 7 Georgetown earn its 11th straight win with a 64-51 triumph over Rutgers on Saturday at Verizon Center.

Porter connected on just 6-of-12 from the floor, but knocked down 15-of-18 free throws to pace the Hoyas (23-4, 13-3 Big East), who received nine points apiece from Markel Starks and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera.

"I just have to do whatever is necessary to win," Porter remarked. "I think my teammates feel the same way, same thing with the coaches."

With the win, Georgetown clinched a double-bye in next week's Big East tournament and maintained its one-game lead over Louisville and Marquette atop the conference.

Wally Judge led Rutgers (13-14, 4-12) with 11 points, while Myles Mack and Dane Miller each scored nine for the Scarlet Knights, who have lost four straight games.

Rutgers held the Hoyas to just 6-for-14 from the field in the first half, but Georgetown connected on 14-of-19 from the charity stripe to take a slim 29-28 edge into the break.

The Scarlet Knights netted the first five points of the second half to grab a four-point lead before Nate Lubick's jumper ended Georgetown's nearly eight- minute field-goal drought that spanned the first and second frames.

Lubick's bucket sparked a 7-0 Georgetown run that Porter capped with a three- point play to give the Hoyas the lead for good.

With the margin at 39-37 and just over 12 minutes left, Porter poured in 10 of his team's next 12 points before a Smith-Rivera 3-pointer pushed the Georgetown lead to 54-45 with seven minutes left.

A Mack triple brought Rutgers within six, but Porter followed two Mikael Hopkins free throws with a reverse layup to give Georgetown a 58-48 cushion with four minutes left.

The Scarlet Knights managed just one field goal the rest of the way, allowing the Hoyas to open up a double-digit spread down the stretch.

Early on, Georgetown led 26-19 with just over four minutes left in the first half after Porter buried a trey, but the Hoyas went the rest of the half without a field goal to watch their lead shrink to one heading into the break.

"Well I know who I'm voting for for BIG EAST Player of the Year," Rutgers coach Mike Rice said of Porter. "A steady dose of Otto Porter and a lack of offensive toughness maybe down the last six minutes kind of did us in."

Game Notes

Georgetown has won four straight against Rutgers and owns a 29-16 lead in the all-time series ... Georgetown finished 30-for-42 from the free-throw line, while Rutgers went 6-for-15 from the charity stripe ... Porter's 15 free throws were the most by a Georgetown player since Mike Sweetney's 16 on April 1, 2003.