Washington, D.C.  –  South Florida senior Solomon Jones scored 23 points and the host Bulls connected on 57 percent of its field goals en route to a 63-56 win over 20th-ranked Georgetown at the SunCoast Dome in Tampa, Florida on Saturday night.

The loss ends a two-game win streak for the Hoyas, as they finish the regular season with a 19-8 overall record and a 10-6 mark in the BIG EAST.  South Florida ends its season with a 7-22 overall record and a 1-15 league slate.  Georgetown will enter next week’s BIG EAST Tournament as the fifth-seed in the league, playing on Wednesday at 2 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.

Georgetown led by one point, 31-30, at the break, but the Bulls scored seven of the first nine points in the second half, taking a 37-33 lead.  The Hoyas would bounce back and tied the game at 37-all on a layup from senior forward Brandon Bowman (Santa Monica, Calif./Westchester). 

The second half was close throughout, with six ties and seven lead changes.  Georgetown took its last lead, 42-41, when sophomore forward Jeff Green (Hyattsville, Md./Northwestern) hit one of two free throws with 11:43 to play.  One of two free throws from Bowman with 7:48 to play tied the game at 44-all, but McHugh Mattis hit a three-pointer to give South Florida a 47-44 lead they would not relinquish. 

Two free throws from Green with just under six minutes to play pulled Georgetown within one point, 49-48, but South Florida got two free throws from Jones and a dunk to extend the lead to five points, 53-48. 

South Florida came out strong and took a 10-point lead, 21-11, on a three-pointer from Melvin Buckley midway through the stanza.  Georgetown, however, responded and outscored the Bulls 20-9 over the final 12 minutes of the half, including a 10-0 spurt in the last three minutes.  Senior guard Darrel Owens (Napoleonville, La./Assumption) scored six points during that run.

Bowman and senior guard Ashanti Cook (Inglewood, Calif./Westchester) scored 11 points apiece to lead the Hoyas, while Green and sophomore guard Jonathan Wallace (Harvest, Ala./Sparkman) each scored 10 points.

The Hoyas connected on 50.0 percent of their shots (17-of-34) and 74.1 percent of their free throws (20-of-27).  South Florida finished the game shooting 57.5 percent (23-of-40), including 6-of-11 from outside the arc (54.5) percent. 

Georgetown returns to action on Wednesday, March 8, playing in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden.  The Hoyas, seeded fifth, will tip off at 2 p.m.

Georgetown University is a proud member of the BIG EAST Conference – the largest and most diverse athletic conference in the country. It was formed in 1979 and represents the athletic interests of 16 member institutions including the University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, DePaul University, Georgetown University, University of Louisville, Marquette University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Providence College, Rutgers University, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, University of South Florida, Syracuse University, West Virginia University and Villanova University. The BIG EAST has captured 25 national championships in six different sports and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series. For more information on Georgetown athletics, please visit www.guhoyas.com. For more information on the BIG EAST Conference and its membership, please visit www.bigeast.org.