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Georgetown's inside duo sinks Vanderbilt

Nov 16, 2006 - 4:21 AM NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Georgetown's inside muscle simply overpowered Vanderbilt.

Jeff Green scored 19 points and Roy Hibbert added 18 to power the eighth-ranked Hoyas to a 86-70 victory over Vanderbilt.

The 7-2 Hibbert also grabbed 10 rebounds while the 6-9 Green added seven as Georgetown repeatedly scored in close to pull away midway through the second half.

"We knew they were going to be tough," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said of the Hoyas' big men. "Hibbert got us in foul trouble early. When they had the lead, then in comes Green. He's a tough matchup and we dont have anyone that matches up well with him."

The Commodores, who had a string of 10 straight season-opening wins snapped, were forced to play catch-up throughout.

Hibbert had seven points and Green added five as the Hoyas stormed to a 15-4 lead in the first 7 1/2 minutes. But Green picked up his second foul at that time and went to the bench, allowing Vanderbilt to close within 29-26 before Georgetown took a 39-35 lead at the half.

Green came out strong in the second half, scoring 14 of his 19 points.

"I felt like he was only out there for five minutes (in the first half)," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said of Green. "It is a completely different game when he is on the floor."

The Hoyas quickly extended the lead to 10 points in the second half, but a 3-pointer by Derrick Byars got the Commodores within 60-55 with 11 1/2 minutes to play.

It was short-lived as Georgetown's Jonathan Wallace countered with a shot from the arc 20 seconds later to restore the lead to eight points.

From there, 21 of the final 23 points by the Hoyas came on layups, dunks or free throws as they steadily pulled away.

"It is good to come in here, to play a good team, a well-coached team in a hostile environment and get a win," Thompson said. "We showed some mettle tonight when they made some runs at us."

Wallace scored 16 points for Georgetown (2-0), which shot 53 percent (32-of-61) from the field.

"We're pretty happy but we have to move on," Hibbert said. "We have to make more strides and get prepared for the next game."

Alex Gordon scored 15 points and Byars added 14 for the Commodores (0-1), who shot 42 percent (22-of-53).