Only four Hoyas score, but Georgetown sends OSU home

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- It's hard enough for John Thompson III to

follow in the footsteps of his famous father. Now the elder

Thompson has raised the stakes.

Roy Hibbert scored 20 points, Jeff Green 19, Ashanti Cook 17 and

Darrel Owens 14 -- accounting for all the Hoyas' points -- to lead

Georgetown to a 70-52 victory over second-seeded Ohio State on

Sunday in the second round of the Minneapolis Regional.

"And he's going to win a national championship, too," Thompson

said of his son, the Hoyas' head coach. "Remember me telling you

that."

The seventh-seeded Hoyas (23-9) did it with a patient and

disciplined offense and a dose of that tenacious defense that the

older Thompson's teams made famous.

After the final seconds ticked away, the happy Hoyas pointed to

the elder Thompson at courtside, who stood and raised a fist and

flashed a smile as wide as any he wore during Georgetown's run to

the NCAA title in 1984.

Father and son hugged soon afterward.

Asked in the interview room if the victory was particularly

sweet because he could share it with his father, Thompson III

asked, "Is he here?"

A booming voice from the back of the room replied, "Right

here!"

The son smiled as he said, "Yes, it is."

The 7-foot-2 Hibbert also had 14 rebounds and three blocked

shots.

The trip to the regional semifinals came in Thompson III's

second season after taking over a team that was down and almost

forgotten. His father, who built the feared and ferocious teams of

the 1980s, went four seasons before winning twice in the 1976 NCAA

Tournament.

Georgetown (23-9) advances to meet Florida (29-6) on Friday.

"What does it mean?" Thompson III repeated. "We'll wait until

the season is over to see. Hopefully, we're not done."

It was a bitter loss for Ohio State (26-6), making its first

tournament appearance since an NCAA investigation into the program

while Jim O'Brien was the head coach led to four trips from

1999-2002 being erased from the books.

This marks the first time since 1996 that a Big Ten team hasn't

made it through the tournament's first weekend.

The Hoyas put it away with a late 9-0 run to push the lead to 15

points and erase any doubts. By that time, many Ohio State fans --

they made up probably 75 percent of the crowd -- were flooding the

exits.

"We came in here knowing this was almost a home game for

them," Hibbert said. "We've played in atmospheres where the whole

crowd's against us. The seniors led us and we followed right behind

them."

The Hoyas wasted no time in getting the attention of the Big

Ten's regular-season champions. Cook drilled a 3-pointer their

first time down the floor. On the second trip, Ohio State's Terence

Dials -- the Big Ten's player of the year -- was called for a touch

foul before the ball was over midcourt.

Hibbert hit four of his first five shots from the field and had

nine points as the Hoyas streaked to a 20-10 lead in the opening

10½ minutes.

"This was one of Roy's best games, but he's been playing well

for us all season," Cook said. "We just hope he stays aggressive

and keeps playing like he did tonight."

Georgetown shot 57 percent from the field in the first half

while grabbing a 38-25 lead.

"We were struggling for answers defensively," Ohio State coach

Thad Matta said. "That's really the first time -- except for about

an eight-minute span against LSU -- when we've been baffled by a

team."

Perhaps the only good sign for the Buckeyes was that their top

outside shooter, Je'Kel Foster, came out of a lengthy shooting funk

to hit three consecutive long 3-pointers that cut the Hoyas' lead

to 22-19.

Unfazed, Georgetown continued to pass and cut on offense and

play sticky defense. The Hoyas ran off 11 of the half's final 13

points, most on layups or shots in the paint.

The Buckeyes never got closer than six points because guards

Cook, Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp never let them get a clean

perimeter shot.

"If they [the Hoyas] continue to play like this, the sky's the

limit," Ohio State's J.J. Sullinger said.

Dials finished with 19 points, Jamar Butler had 12 and Foster 11

for the Buckeyes.

At least the quiet ride home didn't take long for Ohio State,

which only came an hour down the road from Columbus.

"We beat a very, very good team," Thompson III said. "I guess

we had a bunch of guys who decided they wanted to keep playing. So

we're playing."