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Sophomore forward DaJuan Summers scored a career-high 24 points in Georgetown’s win over South Florida. Summers scored the Hoyas’ first 11 points to help GU keep pace with the Bulls’ hot start.

Down 10 points less than six minutes into Tuesday night’s game against last-place South Florida, Georgetown needed an answer. It’s as easy as one-two-No. 3. On a night when many Hoya faithful appeared to choose watching Super Tuesday on TV instead of Georgetown at Verizon Center, sophomore forward DaJuan Summers hit four treys and led the Hoyas to a 63-53 victory over a persistent Bulls team. Summers posted a career-high 24 points and added nine rebounds, to keep the Big East bottom-feeder South Florida at bay. “He was terrific on both ends of the floor,” senior center Roy Hibbert said of his teammate. “He was really the heart and soul of this game right here.” Summers was especially key in the first half, as the Bulls (10-13, 1-9 Big East), the Big East’s worst team to date, bolted out of the gate against first-place, Georgetown (19-2, 9-1). South Florida took advantage of Georgetown early offensive’s troubles to jump ahead 4-0 in the first two minutes and 13-3 at the 14:18 mark. If not for three three-point shots by Summers, the Hoyas would have been worse off early on – Hibbert and freshman guard Austin Freeman kept coming up empty, and the four starters outside of Summers went a combined 4-of-19 in the first half. “They were fired up; they played well,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said. “Our decision making was a stumbling block. We were cutting things a little short early.” The aggressive effort by the Bulls scared many of the 8,316 in attendance, bringing back a not-so-pleasant memory from the last time these two teams faced off, almost two years ago in Tampa. It was the last regular season game of 2006 and South Florida had yet to win a conference game. No one expected them to even come close to a ranked Georgetown team, but the Bulls shocked even their hometown crowd, defeating the Hoyas, 63-56. “I felt that we owed them one,” Hibbert said referring to the last time the two teams met. Senior center Kentrell Gransberry led the South Florida charge with 13 points and nine rebounds, while freshman guard Dominique Jones proved he has a good future in the Big East, posting 15 points against Georgetown, one of the nation’s best defensive teams. The Bulls were also helped by a weak Hoya offense. Georgetown shot just 39.3 percent, a season low for the Hoyas. While Georgetown’s field goal percentage – usually one its strengths – suffered, it was rebounding, which has been a trouble spot for the Hoyas, that helped the home team pull out the win. Thompson said that for the first time all year, “I think our rebounding got us through tonight.” Georgetown outrebounded its USF 43-27, including an 18-6 edge on the offensive glass. The Hoyas were strong in the paint all night. In addition to Summers, Hibbert grabbed eight rebounds, and Freeman, while quiet on the offensive end, added six rebounds of his own, as did sophomore guard Jeremiah Rivers. Hibbert posted 13 points and an impressive six blocks on the day. Once the Hoyas took the lead with 2:47 remaining in the first half on a three from junior guard Jessie Sapp (11 points, five assists), they never relinquished it. “This group has different people that can put points on the board any given night,” Thompson said of his varied offensive approach, which has featured different leading scorers in recent games, from Hibbert, to Summers, to Freeman and even sophomore forward Vernon Macklin. The Hoyas will need all these scorers against a tough Louisville team in their next matchup on Saturday evening. The Cardinals are currently third in the conference with a 7-3 record and are 17-6 overall. “We’re just gonna have to play aggressive,” Hibbert said. Free Throws: – For the third consecutive game, a Hoya has set a career high in points. Senior forward Patrick Ewing Jr. netted 16 points against Seton Hall on Saturday, while sophomore forward Vernon Macklin scored 18 against St. John’s last Wednesday. – Since scoring 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting Jan. 19 against Notre Dame, freshman guard Austin Freeman has shot 12-of-42 (28.6 percent) from the field in his last five games. Still, his field-goal percentage on the season is at 51.3 percent. – Sophomore forward DaJuan Summers on his injured ankle: “I wouldn’t say 100 percent, but it’s better than it was the past couple of games.”