With Mourning Fouled Out, Georgetown Loses

Georgetown is the nation’s No. 2 team with Alonzo Mourning in its lineup. But the Hoyas proved Saturday that they’re very beatable with the 6-foot-10 freshman center on the bench.

Pittsburgh’s Jason Matthews scored 24 points as Georgetown, playing most of the second half without Mourning, was held to eight points in the final 10 minutes in losing to the Panthers, 79-74, in a Big East Conference game.

Matthews and Rod Brookin scored six points each during a 12-0 run midway through the second half that rallied the Panthers from a 10-point deficit to a 68-66 lead on Matthews’ fifth three-pointer of the game with 5:58 to play.

With Mourning on the bench after fouling out with 8:13 to play, Pitt pulled off its fourth upset of a Top 10 team in the last five weeks. Last month, the Panthers upset then-No. 2 Syracuse, then-No. 3 Oklahoma and then No.-9 Seton Hall.

“They set the tone early. They got the three-point shots and really hit those, and the fouls go with the game,” Georgetown Coach John Thompson said. “The ref calls it as he sees it, but none of us ever actually see it like that. We certainly would have liked to have had the big guy in there, though.”

After taking a 66-56 lead on Dikembe Mutombo’s dunk with 10 minutes left, the Hoyas--who had won eight consecutive Big East games--were outscored, 23-8, the rest of the way.

Pitt, 12-10 overall and 5-6 in the Big East, outrebounded the taller Hoyas, 38-29, as 6-9 sophomore Bobby Martin had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Martin held Mourning, the Big East’s most dominating freshman since Patrick Ewing, to 12 points.

Georgetown, 18-3 after losing for just the second time in 11 games, scored 13 consecutive first-half points to take a 38-28 lead. The Hoyas, 8-2 in the Big East, stretched the lead to 12 points at 49-37 early in the second half, but Mourning drew his fourth personal foul with 14 minutes to play.

Mourning fouled out just seconds after re-entering the game with 8:20 to play, helping Pitt run off its 12-0 burst.