Washington, DC--

Today marked the first time the Georgetown Hoyas did something they have not done in 10 years, sit on top of the Big East Conference after a thrilling defeat of the Pitt Panthers.

The Hoyas came into today's game tied with Pitt for first place, but with the victory today they sit a top of the league at 12-2. If the Hoyas defeat Syracuse (20-8, 9-5) tomorrow, they will clinch at least a share of the regular season title and earn the top seed in the conference tournament, because they will hold the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh (24-5, 11-3). Georgetown hasn't won a Big East regular season title since 1997, when the league was split in two divisions, and it hasn't been the top seed in the tournament since 1989.

The Hoyas might not have had the best game in handling the ball (14 turnovers) they found a way to make sure that Pitt did not shoot much better with the turnovers they recovered. Pitt shot a dismal 32.8 percent from the field but managed to use a 13-0 run going into the second half with a 39-33 lead with 14:29 remaining.

Jonathan Wallace led the Hoyas with 17 points and Jeff Green fouled out of the game with 14 points. Green carried the load for the Hoyas when foul trouble sent Hibbert to the bench during the final three minutes of the second half.

"We had a lot of energy and we let it out the wrong way. We had a lot of turnovers," said Green, who played just 10 minutes, attempting two shots, in the first half due to foul trouble. "At halftime, Coach told us to calm down, and that's what we did in the second half. We just converted that energy into the defensive end. We got a lot of stops, a lot of big rebounds. That's what we didn't do in the first half."

Hoyas Head Coach John Thompson III said the Hoyas did a much better on the offensive end, but they did not let up defensively either.

"Even though they got all of those offensive rebounds, we got a couple of key ones," Thompson said. "Jeff Green came up with some key loose balls. . . . There were a couple of key possessions where we had to get it, and he went and got it. He willed his way to get the ball."

"Today was a very good win -- don't get me wrong -- against a very good team," Thompson said. "You can't be unhappy about the position that we're in. Even I can't."