For weeks, Georgetown kept creeping up in the AP poll. The Hoyas were not impressing voters with big wins, but they kept winning.

When the latest poll is released on Monday, the No. 15 Hoyas will likely make a big jump after beating two ranked teams on neutral courts over the course of five days.

After beating No. 22 Butler 72-65 on Tuesday in Madison Square Garden, Georgetown dismantled No. 17 Washington 74-66, a final score that belies the Hoyas’ strangle-hold in the second half.

Coming out of the locker room with a 30-29 lead, Georgetown ripped off a 21-2 run in the first 6:06 of the half to take a 51-31 lead. Junior forward Julian Vaughn scored a career-high 18 points and all five Georgetown starters scored in double figures.

“That’s how we have to win – as a unit at both ends of the floor,” Head Coach John Thompson III said after the game when he was presented with a trophy for winning at the John Wooden Classic.

Led by its stingy defense, Georgetown’s lead swelled to 20 with 6:40 remaining, but Washington slowly chipped away. The Huskies cut the lead to six with 30 seconds remaining but could not get any closer.

Washington was led by forward Quincy Pondexter (23 points, five steals) and guard Isaiah Thomas (21 points), but the rest of the Huskies combined for only 22 points. Washington, which entered the game averaging over 86 points per game, was hampered by 25 turnovers.

The Hoyas turned the ball over 17 times and shot slightly worse from the field than the Huskies, but they held a decided advantage from the free-throw line. Georgetown went to the line 28 times and converted 20 shots, while Washington was just 6-of-9

The game was a back-and-forth affair until the Hoyas opened up a six-point lead near the end of the half. A layup from junior point guard Chris Wright gave the Hoyas a 28-22 advantage with 3:38 remaining in the first half, but Georgetown did not convert a field goal for the rest of the half.

Georgetown scored 46 points in the paint, including 30 in the second half.

The game was a part of the John Wooden Classic, honoring the legendary UCLA coach who won 10 NCAA championships.

“He’s had an influence on all of us,” Thompson said while receiving the trophy.

Saturday, Georgetown will play Old Dominion at McDonough Gymnasium, the only on-campus game of the season. The last time the Hoyas played the Monarchs on campus, in 2006, Old Dominion knocked off then-No. 8 Georgetown in the team’s first loss at McDonough in 24 years.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

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