Georgetown 68 - 58 Providence
Final
  for this game

Georgetown rallies past Providence

Feb 19, 2008 - 12:14 AM PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (Ticker) -- Just when it appeared Georgetown could be headed for a third loss in four games, the 11th-ranked Hoyas found a needed spark.

Jonathan Wallace hit three 3-pointers during a decisive second-half spurt as Georgetown posted a 68-58 victory over Providence in the Big East Conference on Monday.

The Hoyas (21-4, 11-3 Big East) entered Monday's contest tied for first place with Louisville.

But Georgetown was coming off a 77-70 loss at Syracuse, then found itself in trouble again against the Friars, who opened a 41-35 lead on Weyinmi Efejuku's 3-pointer with just under 16 minutes remaining.

The Hoyas turned around the game with their 3-point shooting that triggered a 17-2 spurt. Wallace converted a 3-pointer to tie the contest at 41-41, then followed with back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to stake the Hoyas to a 49-43 lead with 10:41 remaining.

Jeremiah Rivers added another 3-pointer - the Hoyas' fifth during the run - to push the lead to 52-43 with 9:25 left.

Roy Hibbert recorded 18 points and eight rebounds for Georgetown while Wallace finished with 14 points.

Efejuku kept Providence (13-13, 4-10) in the game with 25 points but his strong effort was not enough to prevent the Friars from suffering their fourth straight loss.

It marked the second straight game in which a second-half drought cost the Friars a shot at beating one of the Big East's leaders

On Saturday, Providence held a one-point lead over Louisville midway through the second half before the Cardinals took control with a 14-3 spurt en route to an 80-72 victory.

Georgetown only shot 40 percent from the field (26-of-65) but held the Friars to just 28 points in the second half.

The Friars rallied from an early seven-point deficit to take a 30-29 halftime lead, but Georgetown's inside strength also proved too much for Providence to handle in the second half.

The Hoyas outrebounded the Friars, 43-26, and maintained a 27-1 edge in second-chance points.

Brian McKenzie added 16 points for Providence, which experienced nearly a five-minute scoring drought in the second half.






Related News