With one of their toughest out-of-conference games in recent memory looming just a few days from now, the Hoyas showed that they were not looking ahead just yet.

Georgetown came out and played some its best basketball of the season in the early going and survived a second half run to hold on for a 66-53 victory over Penn State before 6,127 at MCI Center last night.

With the win, Georgetown improved to 3-1 on the season and rides a three-game winning streak going into Thursday night’s matchup with new national No. 1 Illinois.

“As time progresses, we find ourselves more comfortable,” junior forward Brandon Bowman said. “Ever since that first game (a 75-57 home loss to Temple), we’ve been going harder and harder in practice. We’re realizing how good we can be.”

The loss snapped the Nittany Lions’ four-game winning streak, which included a win on the road against Rutgers last Wednesday night. They fell to 5-3 on the season.

The difference in the game last night was Georgetown’s red-hot start, which gave it the big lead it would need to get through long dry spells on offense in both the first and second halves.

The Hoyas came out of the locker room shooting the ball extremely well, just as they had in last week’s decisive victory at Davidson. They sank seven of their first nine shots, including three of their first four attempts from downtown, to open up a commanding 17-0 lead.

Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions were as bad as Georgetown was good. They turned the ball over nine times and missed their first six shots before junior forward Aaron Johnson got them on the scoreboard with a three at the 12:14 mark of the first half.

“We came out early, and a lot of things went well on both ends of the floor,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said.

Unfortunately for Georgetown, the Hoyas would not be able to maintain their torrid pace during the rest of the half. Georgetown proceeded to go ice cold, missing 12 of its next 13 shots and scoring only two points in a five minute span and allowing Penn State to chip away at the big Georgetown lead.

The Nittany Lions, despite shooting only 6-24 from the field in the first half and turning the ball over 13 times, were able to close the score to within 31-21 at halftime. A three-pointer by junior forward Travis Parker, which could have trimmed the lead even further, rimmed out at the buzzer.

“I think we got a little bit complacent, as much as we didn’t want to, but it happens,” Bowman said.

The Hoyas’ shooting woes continued in the second half, and the Nittany Lions finally began to knock down some shots to cut the Hoyas’ lead to single digits.

Junior guard Ashanti Cook intentionally fouled sophomore guard arlon Smith on a fast break opportunity eight minutes into the second half, and the reasonably large contingent of Penn State fans at MCI Center began to make themselves heard. Smith hit one of two free throws, and the Hoyas suddenly found their once 17-point lead down to just three at 42-39.

“As bad as we played, we were one play away all night,” Penn State Head Coach Ed DeChellis said.

While past years have seen the Hoyas collapse at difficult moments like these, last night they answered the challenge.

On the ensuing Penn State possession, freshman forward Jeff Green came up with a big block on freshman swingman Geary Claxton. Green then asserted himself on the offensive end, scoring a key bucket to push the Hoyas lead back up to five.

On the game, Green scored 18 points, 13 of which in the second half, and pulled down 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his Georgetown career.

“Green is a very polished kid as a freshman,” DeChellis said. “He really had a good night tonight.”

Green’s bucket started a 9-0 run that was capped off by a transition three-pointer by Bowman, who lead all scorers tonight with 28 points on 11-15 shooting from the field. The spurt allowed the Hoyas to put their lead back into double digits. Penn State would get no closer than nine during the rest of the game.

“We could’ve caved in but we refocused,” Thompson said. “They made a big run at us, but we found a way to gather ourselves and rally.”

The Hoyas will need just as strong an effort from both Bowman and Green, plus a lot more help from the supporting cast, if they are going to hang with No. 1 Illinois on Thursday.

The 7-0 Fighting Illini, who put up a 91-73 win over previous No. 1 Wake Forest last week, boast what is arguably the best backcourt in the country with junior guards Dee Brown and Deron Williams.

Cook, who had only four points and two assists last night, and seven-foot-two freshman center Roy Hibbert, who was held scoreless and did not grab a single rebound last night in six minutes of action, will need to have much better games for the Hoyas to be competitive with the extremely athletic Illini.

“We’ll start to think about that one on the bus ride home,” Thompson said. “With our group of guys at this time of year, it’s about us. We just have to improve. We can’t get caught up in who we are playing.”

Georgetown has a 2-15 record against teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. The Hoyas faced two different teams ranked No. 1 last year, losing 94-70 at Connecticut on Jan. 14 and 85-66 to Duke 10 days later at MCI Center. Their last win came on Feb. 27, 1985, when the No. 2 Hoyas defeated No. 1 St. John’s 85-69 at Madison Square Garden.

“As far as I’m concerned,” Bowman said, “they’re another team coming in here, playing us at home, and we’re confident.”

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at MCI Center.