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Georgetown gets back on track, tops Rutgers

Jan 15, 2011 - 9:47 PM Piscataway, NJ (Sports Network) - Austin Freeman scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half, helping No. 22 Georgetown get back on track with a 74-65 victory over Rutgers at The RAC.

Freeman hit 4-of-6 from three-point range and added nine rebounds and four assists for the Hoyas (13-5, 2-4 Big East), who had lost four of five coming in, including a lopsided 72-57 home loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Georgetown shot 11-of-22 from behind the arc overall and got 15 points from Chris Wright and 13 from Jason Clark in the much-needed win.

"I think we were extremely aggressive today and the ball went in the basket," Georgetown head coach John Thompson III said.

Gilvydas Biruta posted 14 points and six rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (10-7, 1-4), losers in five of their last six.

The Hoyas held a seemingly comfortable 16-point lead early in the second half, but Rutgers embarked on a 15-3 flurry to make it competitive.

James Beatty's three-pointer from the left corner capped the stretch for a 47-43 game, but Freeman took over from there with a personal 8-2 run -- the final five coming from the foul line -- to rebuild the double-digit margin.

Each time Rutgers chipped away, Georgetown had an answer. Mike Coburn's three- point play with four minutes left made it an eight-point contest, 61-53, but Hollis Thompson drained one from behind the arc at the other end for the Hoyas, who used solid free throw shooting to close out the decision.

"I think we are improving, [but] the [losses] just keep mounting," Rutgers head coach Mike Rice said. "You have to keep riding. You keep improving in practice."

Georgetown opened the game on an 8-0 run and led the rest of the way.

Biruta beat the first-half buzzer with a layup to pull Rutgers within 31-25 at the break, but the Hoyas scored 13 of the first 16 points in the second half to take control.

Clark, Wright and Markel Starks each hit from long range during the run, with Starks' shot making it 44-28 less than 4 1/2 minutes in.

Game Notes

Georgetown shot 12-for-26 (46 percent) inside the perimeter...Rutgers fell to 8-2 at home...Jonathan Mitchell scored 13 points for Rutgers, while Beatty netted 12...Georgetown shot 17-of-19 from the foul line, compared to Rutgers' 9-of-13 performance.