MEN'S BASKETBALL | Georgetown Drops Second Straight

A back-and-forth game ended on yet another Georgetown turnover, as the No. 11 Hoyas (13-3, 3-2) lost to Cincinnati (13-4, 3-1) for the fifth time in six contests, 68-64.

Freshman forward Otto Porter stepped out of bounds with seven seconds remaining and Georgetown trailing 64-62, tacking on one more giveaway to an already ugly night for the turnover-plagued Hoyas.

"We cannot turn the ball over like that. That was the ball game," Head Coach John Thompson III said. "I think you have to give them credit, but then after you do that, most of our turnovers were what I call unforced turnovers — not being good passers, not being good receivers. ... We shot ourselves in the foot."

As for the final play, Cincinnati's defense forced the Hoyas into an uncomfortable situation.

"They switched defenses on us, so you just had to play at that point," Thompson III said. "Otto had the ball at that point, and just stepped out of bounds."

Cincinnati guard Dion Dixon then sank his final four free throws to ice the game and hand Georgetown its second loss in as many games. Dixon and guard Sean Kilpatrick torched the Hoyas, combining for 49 of the Bearcats' 68 points. Kilpatrick led all scorers with 27.

Georgetown led 59-53 with six minutes remaining, but went cold in the clutch. The Hoyas committed five turnovers, scored just one basket and missed four of seven free throws to end the game, a drastic regression in late-game performance from their previous thrilling wins over Louisville and Marquette.

It was a tough loss for the Blue and Gray, which shot 59 percent for the game, including 12-of-19 in the second half. Junior forward Hollis Thompson and senior guard Jason Clark each scored 14 points and missed just one shot apiece.

Thompson finished 4-of-4 from long-range in the first half but disappeared in the second, attempting only one shot.

"Yeah, I wasn't real happy at halftime that [Thompson] was four-for-four," Cincinnati Head Coach Mick Cronin said. "Every scouting report says you can't let him shoot. So I was real vocal about not letting him get to the three-point line."

Cronin put Kilpatrick on Thompson for the rest of the game, and the guard was as impressive on defense as he was on offense.

One bright spot for the Hoyas was the play of sophomore forward Nate Lubick, who scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out three assists, with many of his rebounds coming at critical moments in the game.

Lubick has started every game this year, but has seen his playing time diminish as Porter and fellow freshmen Jabril Trawick, Greg Whittington and Mikeal Hopkins have played more minutes.

"I thought Nate was very good today. It's good to see," Thompson III said. "He went through a tough stretch. … [But] he came out and played hard, made a lot of hustle plays, which were positive for us."

For the second time in as many games, the Hoyas started out strong but allowed their opponent back into the game with poor ballhandling. The Blue and Gray opened the game on an eight-minute, 9-2 run. The Bearcats stormed back with a 12-0 run of their own in less than two minutes, during which the Hoyas gave away three more possessions.

"They're going to shoot a high percentage, so you better get some turnovers," Cronin said of the Hoyas. "[Georgetown] runs their offense as good as any team that I've coached against."

Following an 11-game win streak, Georgetown is now 0-2 in just three days and will have five days off for the start of classes before a matchup against St. John's at Madison Square Garden.

"You can't start pointing figures," Clark said. "We know what things are good, and we have to get back to those things."

Tip-off against the Red Storm is set for noon on Sunday.