• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Hibbert, Green power Georgetown over BC

Mar 18, 2007 - 6:59 AM WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Ticker) -- In the end, Roy Hibbert and Georgetown had too much strength inside for their former Big East rival.

Hibbert scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and Jeff Green added 11 as second-seeded Georgetown muscled its way past No. 7 Boston College for a 62-55 victory in the second round of the East Region of the NCAA Tournament.

Beating the Eagles for the first time in three games, the Hoyas (28-6) advanced into the regional semifinals for the second straight year. They will face No. 6 Vanderbilt on Friday.

"At this time of year you are just happy to win and move on," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "Boston College was our opponent tonight so I am extremely happy about beating Boston College."

Boston College was a longtime member of the Big East Conference before switching to the Atlantic Coast Conference prior to the 2005-06 season.

"It was a real tough game. It was a real tough battle between us and Boston College," Georgetown sophomore guard Jessie Sapp said. "It was a classic Big East game but now they're in the ACC. It was tough but we came out with the victory."

Trailing, 30-26, at the half and struggling with Boston College's zone defense, Georgetown found the cracks in the second half, as Hibbert and Green combined for 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting.

"Coach said I needed to be more aggressive down low, whether it was at the end of the shot clock posting up and getting position or just blocking shots and getting rebounds," said Hibbert, who finished with 12 rebounds and two of the Hoyas' seven rejections.

"In the first half the guys had a really good understanding of what we wanted to do and I thought we executed well," Boston College Al Skinner said. "Late in the game we did not continue to maintain the discipline mentally to play the way we wanted to play. Because of that, it created some opportunities for (Hibbert)."

Green also pulled down 12 boards and blocked five shots.

Although the Eagles (21-12) extended their lead from the break to 39-31 when Tyrese Rice hit a 3-pointer with 15:28 remaining, the Hoyas answered back with a 10-0 spurt, pulling ahead, 41-39, on two free throws by Hibbert with 11:44 to play.

Both teams then went back-and-forth for the next three minutes before Georgetown regained the lead for good after Hibbert followed up his own miss by poking away the rebound from a defender and dunking for a 46-44 edge with 8:03 left.

"He was playing with a tremendous amount of confidence," Skinner said of Hibbert. "A lot of credit has to be given to him. He decided he was going to try to make plays and that's what he did."

Hibbert missed another inside shot on the next possession, but Green streaked in from the left side for a thunderous follow dunk and a 48-44 cushion.

"We started looking and watching them make moves," Skinner said. "Our perimeter players in the first half were concentrating and making sure they were boxing out. All of a sudden we started helping down low and that's not what we had been doing all game. It allowed them to get some running starts to the basket and they got some put backs. We couldn't have that."

The Big East Player of the Year, Green extended the lead to 59-53 on a three-point play with 1:25 left.

Patrick Ewing Jr. also had an impressive dunk of his own, as Hibbert found the forward on a cut for a reverse slam and a 62-55 advantage with 42 seconds left.

"I tried to check the shot clock and make a move and I saw (Ewing) flashing down and so I made a pass to him and I'm happy he finished it," Hibbert said.

Jonathan Wallace scored 15 points and Sapp added eight and five steals for the Hoyas, who shot 42 percent (22-of-52) and converted 14-of-19 free throws.

The ACC Player of the Year, Jared Dudley had 19 points and eight rebounds in the final game of his illustrious career for Boston College.

"I came to Boston College and wanted to help the team," he said. "I came from a winning program in high school and I had the opportunity to play right away and I never looked back. I am proud of my time at Boston College."

Although Georgetown shot just 38 percent (9-of-24) in the first, it did have a strong start to the game, pulling ahead, 12-2, on a jumper by Sapp less than four minutes in.

However, the zone defense of Boston College eventually took control, forcing the Hoyas to miss seven of their next eight shots. During that same span, the Eagles went on a 9-3 burst behind six points by Dudley.

Rice, who finished with 22 points, hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 19-19 with 8:16 remaining, and added a layup on the 6-2 run that Boston College used to give it a 30-26 lead at break.