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Georgetown routs Notre Dame

Jan 20, 2008 - 12:07 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Georgetown came out angry following its first Big East Conference loss and made Notre Dame pay.

Roy Hibbert scored 13 of his 21 points in the game's first 12 minutes as the sixth-ranked Hoyas routed the Fighting Irish, 84-65, on Saturday.

Eager to make amends for Monday's 69-60 defeat to Pittsburgh, Georgetown looked to push the tempo from the opening tip, building a 10-4 lead in the first four minutes.

The Fighting Irish (13-4, 3-2 Big East East) answered the Hoyas' early shot, grabbing a 17-16 lead on Jonathan People's 3-pointer with 9:46 left in the half.

But the Hoyas (14-2, 4-1) took control with a suffocating defense, holding Notre Dame scoreless for almost six minutes. Vernon Macklin's layup capped a 15-0 run that gave Georgetown a 31-17 lead with 4:17 to go in the half.

"I think Roy was aggressive and assertive," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "He does a pretty good job of understanding when it's his turn and when he should help his teammates. They (Notre Dame) were spread out on our shooters and he took advantage of it."

The Irish had no answer early for Hibbert, as the Hoyas pounded the ball inside to the 7-2 center, who enjoyed a decided mismatch playing against the 6-8 Luke Harangody.

Kyle McAlarney's 3-pointer with 2:56 remaining ended nearly a seven-minute stretch for Notre Dame without a field goal. The Fighting Irish shot only 30 percent (9-of-30) in the opening half.

"It's really simple," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "We have to score the ball more, especially in the first half, to get confidence. We couldn't score, we couldn't get into a rhythm."

Georgetown dominated inside, outscoring the Irish 30-6 in the paint in the first half. The Hoyas shot 53 percent (28-of-53) from the field while holding Notre Dame to 33 percent (28-of-53). For most of the second half, the Irish were under 20 percent.

"The first thing I told them (his players) is we set the tone early," Thompson said.

While Notre Dame has won a school-record 31 straight games at home, it has found life on the road less hospitable. The Irish have been blown out in both their road games, suffering a 92-66 defeat at Marquette on January 12.

Georgetown shut down Harangody and McAlarney, Notre Dame's two leading scorers.

Harangody averaged 24 points in Notre Dame's first four Big East games and 19.3 points overall coming into Saturday's contest, but the Hoyas limited him to 13 points on 3-of-14 shooting.

McAlarney, averaging just under 15 points, made just 4-of-15 shots and finished with 10 points.

"Harangody poses problems," Thompson said. "He's been playing at a high level right now. We just wanted to - at all cost - protect the 3-point line. All things being equal, I guess we did okay."

Hibbert cooled off after the fast start, but his teammates didn't. After taking a 38-25 halftime lead, the Hoyas led by as many as 23 in the second half.

"We took the lead at 18-17 and then we lost control of the game, but he had great looks," Brey said. "McAlarney had some great looks."

DaJuan Summers contributed 17 points and Austin Freeman added 16 for Georgetown, which has won five straight against the Irish, including an 84-82 victory in last season's Big East tournament.

The 65 points was 14 fewer than Notre Dame's season average and one less than the Irish scored in Tuesday's 91-74 victory over Cincinnati.

Notre Dame attempted 17 3-pointers in the first half but made only five. The Irish finished 7-of-25 from the arc.

"The first half, they got off 17 threes," Thompson said. "I didn't want that to happen. They have terrific shooters."