New York, NY -- (Sports Network) - Brandon Bowman scored 14 points and hit six crucial free throws down the stretch, as 23rd-ranked Georgetown held off a late Marquette surge and earned a 62-59 victory in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Ashanti Cook and Jeff Green each scored 16 points for the fifth-seeded Hoyas (21-8), who have won two games in the tournament to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2000. Georgetown, which held off Notre Dame on Wednesday, will next face Syracuse after the Orange stunned top-ranked Connecticut earlier on Thursday.

Steve Novak scored 18 points and Wesley Matthews added 14 for Marquette (20-10), which was playing its first Big East Tournament game. The Eagles are still expected to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.

Georgetown was ahead 58-50 with 33 seconds to play after a pair of free throws by Bowman, but nearly blew the lead.

Jerel McNeal's layup was followed by a Georgetown five-second violation, and two free throws by Matthews made it a 58-54 game. Matthews then came up with a steal and Dominic James converted a layup with 14 seconds remaining.

Bowman hit two more from the stripe to extend the Hoya lead to 60-56, but Novak drilled a three-pointer with seven seconds to play to make it a one- point game.

Novak committed a foul on the inbound play, ending his afternoon, and two more Bowman free throws extended the lead to three with five seconds left.

The Eagles still had a chance, but McNeal's three-point heave from the top of the key was off the mark as time expired.

"I was proud of the way our guys hung in there and battled back, even though we were unable to finish it off," said Marquette head coach Tom Crean.

Bowman finished 8-for-8 from the line and the Hoyas, normally a poor free throw shooting team, were 18-of-22 overall.

"Brandon did all the things in the game today to help us win, and he made his foul shots," said Georgetown head coach John Thompson III.

Marquette scored the first six points of the game on the way to a 9-2 edge. The Hoyas, who fell behind by double-digits early against Notre Dame, trailed 20-9 with just over nine minutes left before finishing the half with a 13-2 run to tie the game at 22-22.

The second half remained close, as neither team held more than a five-point lead until Georgetown pulled away late.

Novak canned a three-pointer to pull Marquette within 49-48 with 4:40 to play, but Georgetown rattled off the next six points.

Darrel Owens started the run with a layup and after a couple of empty trips for each team, Bowman drained two free throws with 2:33 remaining. Bowman then converted a dunk with 50 seconds left to make it 55-48, but the Hoyas still had to hold on at the end.

Game Notes:

Green added nine rebounds and five assists for Georgetown...James, the Big East Freshman of the Year, was a dismal 2-for-15 from the field and finished with eight points. He also had six assists...Novak was 6-of-9 from three-point range.