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Georgetown hangs on to win opener over Jacksonville

Nov 18, 2008 - 6:07 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Sophomore Chris Wright scored 14 of his career-high 16 points in the first half as 18th-ranked Georgetown held on for a 71-62 season-opening victory over Jacksonville on Monday.

Freshman Greg Monroe had 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Hoyas (1-0), who made just 5-of-23 3-pointers.

Georgetown is coming off a disappointing second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament last season and lost two of its leaders in 7-2 center Roy Hibbert and point guard Jonathan Wallace to graduation.

Stepping into Wallace's starting spot, Wright equaled his career high in the first half, making 5-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from the arc as the Hoyas held a 37-25 lead at intermission.

Georgetown never trailed but failed to put away Jacksonville (0-2), which pulled within 59-56 on a pair of free throws by Ben Smith with 5:04 remaining.

The Dolphins never got any closer, committing a couple key turnovers and the Hoyas went 8-of-8 from the foul line in the final 1:44 to put the game away.

"We played hard tonight and I really liked our effort tonight," Jacksonville coach Cliff Warren said. "There are a lot of positives for us to take out of this game, but you have to give Georgetown credit. They did the little things it takes to win games like this."

Smith finished with 17 points and Marcus Allen had 14 and eight rebounds for Jacksonville, which shot 3-of-20 from the arc.

Jessie Sapp and DaJuan Summers each scored 13 points for the Hoyas.