Washington, D.C.  –  Sophomore forward DaJuan Summers ( Baltimore , Md. /McDonogh) scored a career-high 23 points to lead three players in double figures as No. 6 Georgetown had to overcome a sluggish first half en route to a 62-51 win over South Florida in front of 8,316 at Verizon Center .

It was the sixth-straight win for Georgetown , and the 11th in the last 12 games as the Hoyas improve to 19-2 overall and 9-1 in the BIG EAST.  South Florida falls to 10-13 overall and 1-9 in the BIG EAST as they lose their ninth-straight game.

Summers scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the first half and connected on 8-of-13 shots from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point land to lead the Hoyas.

After trailing for most of the first half, the Hoyas held a three-point lead at the half (27-24).  The teams traded baskets to start the second half and GU held a 29-28 lead after a layup from Mobolaji Ajayi with 18:07 to play.  Georgetown , however, went on an 8-0 run over a span of 1:44 and opened up a 37-28 lead on a three-pointer from freshman guard Austin Freeman (Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha).  The lead was still nine points, 41-32, after free throws from senior guard Jonathan Wallace ( Harvest , Ala. /Sparkman), but South Florida pulled to within four points, 41-34, on a layup from Chris Howard with 11:37 to play. 

Georgetown took control of the game with an 8-2 spurt over 3:27, taking its biggest lead to that point, 51-39, when junior guard Jessie Sapp ( New York , N.Y./National Christian Academy [ Md. ]) fed Summers for a thunderous dunk.  A layup from sophomore forward Vernon Macklin ( Portsmouth , Va. / Hargrave Military Academy ) gave the Hoyas their biggest, lead, 56-42, with 6:04 to play.

South Florida came out strong in the first half and held the lead for the majority of the first 20 minutes.  Jumpers from Jesus Verdejo and Dominique Jones gave the Bulls a 4-0 lead and the Hoyas got on board at the 16:50 mark on a Summers three-pointer.   USF scored the next nine points in a span of 2:02 and took a 13-3 lead on a layup from Mobolaji Ajayi. 

The Hoyas used a 10-3 run over a span of 1:59 – with Summer scoring eight of the 10 points – and closed to within 16-13 on a jumper from sophomore guard Jeremiah Rivers ( Winter Park , Fla. / Winter Park ).   South Florida in turn scored the next six points, taking its biggest lead, 22-13, on a jumper from Orane Chin with 8:05 to play.

Georgetown out-scored the Bulls 14-2 over the final 8:05 and took its first lead of the game, 24-22, on a three-pointer from Sapp with 2:47 to play.  The lead was extended to three points, 25-22, when Summers, who scored 14 in the first half, hit one of two free throws and the Hoyas held a 27-24 lead at the break. 

The Hoyas shot 39.3 percent from the floor (22-of-56), but were 12-of-22 (54.5%) in the second half.  The team hit 33.3 percent of its three-pointers (8-of-24) and was 52.4 percent from the free throw line (11-of-21).  The Hoyas held a commanding 43-27 edge in rebounding, handed out 12 assists and had 10 blocked shots.

Senior center Roy Hibbert (Adelphi, Md./Georgetown Prep) scored 13 points, had eight rebounds, three assists and a career-high six blocked shots, while Sapp added 11 points and a team-high five assists.  Freeman finished with five points and six rebounds and senior forward Patrick Ewing, Jr. ( Marietta , Ga. / National Christian Academy [ Md. ]) added four points and four rebounds.

Georgetown takes to the road this weekend, visiting Louisville in a pivotal BIG EAST matchup on Saturday in Kentucky .  Tip-off is slated for 9 p.m. and the game will be shown live on ESPN.  It can be heard locally on SportsTalk 980 AM.