WASHINGTON – Chris Wright scored 20 points, Austin Freeman added 17 despite limping badly off the court in the first half, and No. 11 Georgetown survived the run-'em-ragged strategy of Marquette coach Buzz Williams to win its eighth straight game, beating the Golden Eagles 69-60 Sunday.
The win moved the Hoyas (20-5, 9-4) into sole possession of third place in the Big East and kept alive their longest conference win streak since 2006-07.
Georgetown won despite an off night against Marquette's tough man-to-man defense, shooting 43 percent from the field, including 7 for 27 from 3-point range. But the Hoyas made 16 of 18 free throws and held the Golden Eagles to 40 percent from the field.
Darius Johnson-Odom scored 20 points for Marquette (15-10, 6-6), which dropped back to .500 in the congested heart of the Big East. The Golden Eagles went 1-2 during a three-game road stretch.
Freeman accounted for four points in a 9-1 late second-half run that gave the Hoyas a little breathing room in a game that stayed closed throughout.
Freeman's bank shot, Henry Sims' three-point play and Freeman's transition layup helped push the score to 59-50 with 4:50 to play, and Jason Clark's two free throws with 3:43 remaining made it 61-51 — the only double-digit lead either team would have in the game.
Marquette pulled within three on Johnson-Odom's steal and layup that made it 63-60 with 1:41 to go, but Julian Vaughn's dunk started a game-ending 6-0 run for the Hoyas.
Freeman was hurt during a scramble for the ball with 1:31 remaining in the first half and could barely put any weight on his right foot as he limped to the locker room. He did not start the second half but re-entered the game with 17:13 to play and looked just fine.
He hung in the air before shot-putting a right-hander off the glass while getting fouled to pull the Hoyas within one, then gave Georgetown the lead with a fadeaway baseline jumper that made the score 42-41 with 12 minutes to play. The Hoyas would not trail again.
Williams ran the first half like a hockey coach, shuffling multiple players in and out of the game at virtually every break in play.
Rarely was there a moment in which a Marquette player — or two or three or four — wasn't sitting by the scorer's table waiting for the next whistle. Williams himself was almost like a sixth man, constantly straying so far from the coach's box during play that Georgetown's fans jeered him with the chant: "Off the court!"
Williams didn't substitute nearly as liberally in the second half, but he kept a constant flow of players coming off the bench. He also made the most out of Davante Gardner, who had scored all of seven points in Big East play this season. Gardner was an influential presence in the paint and finished with 12 points before fouling out with 7:07 to play.
Jimmy Butler came off the bench for the second straight game, having also played as a reserve last week against South Florida after suffering a head injury in practice. He finished with 10 points.
The Golden Eagles were rolling early, but a momentum shift came when Johnson-Odom hit a 3-pointer to give Marquette an eight-point lead then celebrated with a gesture — making an "OK" sign over his eye — that was judged worthy of an unsportsmanlike conduct technical foul.
Georgetown hit both free throws, and Wright hit a 3-pointer for a five-point play that cut the lead to three.
Marquette led 35-31 at halftime, but started the second half 0 for 3 with three turnovers.
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