GAME 1

Behind a big run to start the second half, No. 13 Georgetown remained undefeated with a 74-66 victory over No. 16 Washington in the first game of the 16th annual John R. Wooden Classic at Honda Center.

Up by just one at halftime with a 30-29 lead, the Hoyas (8-0) outscored the Huskies by a 21-2 margin to start the second half and never looked back.

"We had a pretty good stretch at the start of the second half," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "We were able to stretch things out a bit and held on at the end. That is a terrific win against a very good team."

Julian Vaughn led the Hoyas with a career-high 18 points, 12 of which came in the final 20 minutes of play at Honda. The 6-9 junior also had nine rebounds in the contest, which was tied with Greg Monroe for a team high.

"We just try to grind it out and keep the offense going," said Vaughn of the Hoyas offensive strategy. Everyone looks for each other and tries to get the best shot. We’re just trying to make open shots and play good basketball."

It was the second straight win for Georgetown over a top-25 opponent. The Hoyas bested No. 20 Butler 72-65 last Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Thompson liked how his team fared in the both of the tough matchups.

"With Butler and Washington, they are two terrific teams with very different styles of play," Thompson said. "I wanted that because within our league every other night you are playing a team with a totally different style of play. I wanted that preparation. For long stretches, in both games, our defense was pretty good. We made both teams take tough shots. That was our goal."

Monroe, who had 15 points against Washington after totaling career-highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds against Butler, said he is also happy with the team's overall start to the 2009-10 season.

"We are undefeated," the 6-11 sophomore center said. "The team has worked really hard together. We are trying to keep finding ways to win. It’s nothing special that we are doing. We are just working together and executing."

For Washington (6-2), it was the second loss in its last three games. The Huskies started the year with five straight wins before falling to Texas Tech 99-92 on Dec. 3.

The Huskies were once again led by the duo of Quincy Pondexter (23 points) and Isaiah Thomas (21 points), who each entered the Wooden Classic averaging over 20 points per game. But the defending Pac-10 champions could not get much else going around their two stars.

"Those two are the only ones averaging in double figures," said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar of his two top scorers. "That is how it has been. They have been carrying the scoring load. With the other guys, they have to find a rhythm and be able to shoot the ball confidently. These guys have to continue to be aggressive and come out and play."

While Romar felt his team played well in the first half in only being down by one after 20 minutes, he could not put a thumb on why his team came out flat to start the second half. Also not helping matters, were the 25 turnovers his team had in the game.

"I was very impressed with Georgetown," Romar said. "They executed. We did a decent job in the first half of maintaining discipline. The second half we weren’t disciplined and as a result, they got tons of easy baskets on us. We also didn’t do a very good job of taking care of the basketball. Twenty-five turnovers against a team like Georgetown is going to put you in a bad way."

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