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Georgetown topples Eastern Washington to advance

Mar 20, 2015 - 6:15 AM Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 25 points with eight rebounds to help Georgetown shake off its struggles in March with an 84-74 win over Eastern Washington in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The fourth-seeded Hoyas (22-10) entered the Big Dance with four losses -- all to teams seeded 10th or worse -- in the tournament since 2009.

Eastern Washington coach Jim Hayford guaranteed a victory during a radio interview earlier in the week, but things didn't work out as planned.

"Our guys were fired up about that," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said.

They led comfortably throughout the night on Thursday, however, dispatching the 13th-seeded Eagles (26-9) thanks to shooting 11-of-23 from beyond the arc.

Georgetown will now face Utah on Saturday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.

Tyler Harvey recorded 27 points and Venky Jois contributed 19 points and eight rebounds in defeat.

"They were intense," Hayford said of the Hoyas.

The Eagles gained some separation at the midway point of the first half when Harvey jump-started a 9-4 spurt with a 3-pointer that gave them a 24-17 edge.

Harvey canned another 3 with 5:47 left to keep Eastern Washington up four, but Jabril Trawick answered with a trey and Georgetown ended the half on an 18-4 surge.

Smith-Rivera buried a shot from deep to put the Hoyas up 12 before Bogdan Bliznyuk made a pair of free throws to bring the Eagles within 43-33 at halftime.

Georgetown parlayed that first-half run with one to begin the second, as it began the final frame on a 15-2 spurt. Smith-Rivera supplied 10 points to the run -- including successive 3-pointers -- and he capped it with a jumper for a 58-35 lead.

The Hoyas maintained their distance until Bliznyuk's layup cut the deficit to 10, but Paul White nailed a 3 moments later to extend the margin with 1:52 left. Harvey converted a four-point play at the other end, but Georgetown made its free throws down the stretch to move on.

Game Notes

Trawick, White and Mikael Hopkins netted 10 points apiece in the win ... Georgetown shot 52.1 percent from the floor for the game ... The Hoyas outrebounded the Eagles 36-28 ... Eastern Washington scored 19 points off 14 Georgetown turnovers.