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Washington • Otto Porter had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 15 Georgetown pulled away late in the first half Saturday in a 65-48 win over D.C. neighbor American.
Greg Whittington added 13 points for the Hoyas (10-1), who took advantage of the sizable talent gap between the Big East school and the Eagles from the Patriot League. Georgetown has a nine-game winning streak over American, its last loss coming 30 years ago when Patrick Ewing and Co. lost by one point in what still stands as the biggest intracity upset in the nation's capital.
Any thought of another stunner was dispatched when the Hoyas went on an 11-2 run to end the first half, then a 8-0 spurt to start the second half to build a 48-25 lead. It would be a stretch to say the teams are rivals — the atmosphere at the Verizon Center was relaxed, especially with the cheerleaders, band and many other students away for Christmas — and the bigger conversations surrounding Georgetown center on its decision a week ago to join a group of schools that will break away from the Big East, perhaps taking the name with them.
The Hoyas (10-1) have won seven straight since an overtime loss to then-No. 1 Indiana. Georgetown now has a two-week break before opening its conference schedule at Marquette.
Daniel Munoz scored 15 points to lead the Eagles (4-8), who stayed close early with 3-point shooting but struggled to handle Georgetown's pressure defense. It doesn't get any easier for American — its next game is at No. 9 Kansas next Saturday. —