Updated

Otto Porter Jr. scored 18 points and No. 5 Georgetown advanced to the Big East tournament semifinals, recovering from a mid-game hiccup to beat Cincinnati 62-43 on Thursday.

Markel Starks had 14 points and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 13 off the bench, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer that sparked a game-turning run for the top-seeded Hoyas (25-5).

Georgetown, looking to land a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, squandered an early 16-point cushion and fell behind briefly in the second half before clamping down with its trademark defense to pull away.

Cashmere Wright scored 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range to lead the ninth-seeded Bearcats (22-11), but running mate Sean Kilpatrick was off his game. The team's top scorer at 17 points per game, he managed only four on 2-for-12 shooting and missed all eight of his tries from beyond the arc.