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Dixon, Cincinnati uses late push to dump Georgetown

Jan 29, 2009 - 6:21 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Freshman Dion Dixon and a late burst helped Cincinnati fill a hole on its resume.

Dixon scored four of his 10 points in the closing four-plus minutes as Cincinnati used a late run Wednesday to continue the struggles for No. 23 Georgetown and post a 65-57 victory.

Deonta Vaughn scored 20 points and Mike Williams 12 for the Bearcats (14-7, 4-4 Big East), who beat the Hoyas for the first time in five games as a member of the Big East Conference.

Cincinnati also claimed its first win in four games against a ranked opponent this season. It was its first victory over a top-25 team since a 62-59 triumph over then-No. 19 Pittsburgh on January 19, 2008.

"Well obviously, a great win for our team," Bearcats coach Mick Cronin said. "A tremendous defensive effort for our guys. We gave up zero back doors for the game."

"It means a lot to us," Vaughn said. "We are getting our feet on the ground and letting everyone know we are coming to play. We need to keep playing like this to win. It tells everybody that we play hard."

Georgetown took a 55-54 lead behind a 3-pointer by freshman Jason Clark with 4:41 remaining, but Dixon answered with his own basket from the arc 31 seconds later to give Cincinnati the lead for good.

Dixon also split two free throws with 2:13 to play as the Bearcats ended the game with an 11-2 run to win for the fourth time in their last five games.

"I knew I had to do something because I had a few turnovers, and I knew I had to make it up on the offensive end," said Dixon, who shot 3-of-7 on 3-pointers in scoring in double figures for the sixth time this season.

Chris Wright scored 15 points and Austin Freeman 14 for the Hoyas (12-7, 3-5), who dropped their fourth straight decision.

"After the game, we all said we were disappointed with the loss," Wright said. "We have to keep playing hard. We have a lot of games left in the Big East, and we need to do whatever we need to do to win. We had a few bad shots, but we have to stay strong."

Georgetown, which was coming off a 65-60 loss to previously winless Seton Hall on Saturday, is in the midst of its worst losing streak since 2004-05 - coach John Thompson III's first season.

"We are at the point now where our backs are against the wall," Thompson said. "We need to re-evaluate everything. We have to do everything significantly better than we are right now."

To add to the Hoyas' misery, top scorer DaJuan Summers twisted his left ankle in the opening 20 minutes and did not return after halftime. He finished with seven points.

"The timing is unfortunate," Thompson said. "DaJuan gets hurt, and that is unfortunate. We need to roll our sleeves up and fight. It is simple as that."

"As the second half went on, it was fairly evident that he wasn't coming in," Cronin said. "We had heard at halftime that he had turned his ankle. Those are things that sometimes when it rains, it pours. We all know that Georgetown has won the league the last few years because of great players and coaching."

With Summers sidelined, Cincinnati was able to absorb the loss of a 27-26 lead at the break as Georgetown came out and scored 13 of the first 21 points of the second half.

The Hoyas' 39-35 edge with 15:02 remaining would be their largest of the second half. The Bearcats responded with a 10-4 run for a 45-43 lead 3 1/2 minutes later, with Vaughn scoring the final three points of the spurt.

The junior guard also converted two free throws to give Cincinnati a 54-49 lead with 6:02 to play. Georgetown came back with a three-point play by Freeman and the basket from the arc by Clark to go ahead for the final time before missing five of its last six shots.

The Hoyas shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field and attempted only 10 free throws.