Hoyas take big bite out of No. 2 'Nova
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Villanova's Scottie Reynolds goes to the basket against Georgetown's Austin Freeman during the first half on Saturday in Washington. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS |
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The Associated Press - Published: February 7, 2010
WASHINGTON — On a day when a fierce snowstorm blanketed the nation's capital, No. 7 Georgetown buried second-ranked Villanova under a barrage of free throws.
Austin Freeman scored 25 points, Jason Clark had 24, and the Hoyas forced 16 first-half turnovers in a 103-90 victory Saturday that ended Villanova's 11-game winning streak and ruined the Wildcats' perfect Big East record.
Georgetown (17-5, 7-4) led by as many as 23 points in the first half and 50-31 at halftime. Villanova (20-2, 9-1) cut the margin to 10 but never threatened to complete the comeback.
The Hoyas went 39 or 50 at the free throw line, led by Greg Monroe, who went 11 of 14 and scored 19 points. Villanova scored only 17 points on 23 free throws.
Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher each scored 24 points for the Wildcats, whose winning streak included an 82-77 victory over Georgetown on Jan. 17. Villanova's other loss was to Temple on Dec. 13.
Reynolds moved into fifth place on the school scoring list and Fisher become the 52nd player in Villanova history to reach 1,000 points.
Despite the intense snow outside, the Verizon Center was well over half filled. Those in attendance included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former NFL commissioner and Georgetown grad Paul Tagliabue.
The Georgetown student section was packed. Those Hoyas fans who trudged through an estimated 2 feet of snow were rewarded with a game they won't soon forget.
Clark was 6 of 6 from the field and made all four of his 3-point tries during a 17-point first half. Seeking to rebound from a home loss to South Florida, the Hoyas shot 56 percent from the field, went 8 of 13 from beyond the arc and hit 12 of 13 free throws in the first half
Villanova, in contrast, had more turnovers (16) than field goals (12) over the opening 20 minutes.
Georgetown took control behind Freeman, who hit successive 3-pointers to spark a 15-2 run that made it 34-20. Villanova coach Jay Wright was slapped with a technical foul during the surge, and Freeman made him pay by calmly making both free throws.
Minutes later, Clark made consecutive 3-pointers to begin a 16-4 surge that put Georgetown up 50-27.
No. 6 West Virginia 79,
St. John's 60
NEW YORK — Da'Sean Butler scored a season-high 33 points, hitting all seven 3-point attempts, and No. 6 West Virginia rallied for a 79-60 victory over St. John's on Saturday.
The Mountaineers trailed 43-30 more than 4 minutes into the second half before storming into the lead behind a trapping defense and a barrage of 3-pointers.
Wellington Smith had a putback sandwiched between two 3s to pull West Virginia within 45-40. Then Butler hit four 3-pointers in about 5 minutes as the Mountaineers (19-3, 8-2 Big East) pulled away.
West Virginia has won 10 straight against the Red Storm (12-10, 2-8).
Butler's seven 3-pointers were a career high.
Paris Horne and Justin Burrell led St. John's with 12 points each. The Red Storm have lost five in a row.
No. 10 Kansas St. 79,
Iowa St. 75
AMES, Iowa — Denis Clemente scored a season-high 30 points, including six 3-pointers, and No. 10 Kansas State beat Iowa State 79-75 on Saturday for its fourth straight road win.
Curtis Kelly and Jacob Pullen added 15 points each for the Wildcats, who also extended their winning streak over the Cyclones to eight games dating to 2006.
Kansas State (19-4, 6-3) opened the second half with a 17-4 run, turning a six-point deficit into a 48-39 lead in less than 5 minutes. Iowa State got as close as 60-56 before an 8-0 run by the Wildcats secured the victory.
Craig Brackins had 29 points and 12 rebounds for Iowa State (13-10, 2-6), which lost for the fifth time in six games. The Cyclones have dropped 19 straight against ranked opponents.
No. 10 Duke 66,
Boston College 63
BOSTON — Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith scored 21 points apiece to lead No. 10 Duke to a 66-63 victory over Boston College on Saturday.
Boston College cut a 10-point halftime deficit to 64-63 on Reggie Jackson's long, high-arcing 3-pointer with 16 seconds left. Scheyer was fouled after he received the inbound pass and made both free throws before BC's Joe Trapani put a long 3-point attempt off the front of the rim at the buzzer.
The Blue Devils (19-4, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have beaten the Eagles three straight times since BC's victory over then-No. 6 Duke last February.
Corey Raji had 15 points and eight rebounds for BC (12-11, 3-6), which has lost seven of its last 10 games.
It was the second straight payback win for the Blue Devils, who were coming off a victory over a Georgia Tech team that had beaten them earlier this season. BC upset Duke in Chestnut Hill last season, sending the crowd storming onto the court to celebrate just its second win ever over the Blue Devils.
Duke plays archrival North Carolina on Wednesday.
Two nights after making 12 of 18 3-point attempts against Georgia Tech, Duke missed its first six tries from beyond the arc; the Blue Devils finished 5 of 17 from 3-point range in all.
Richmond 71,
No. 19 Temple 54
RICHMOND, Va. — Kevin Anderson scored 16 of his 29 points in a blistering first half for Richmond and the Spiders held off No. 19 Temple down the stretch for a 71-54 victory Saturday.
Richmond (18-6, 7-2 Atlantic 10) shot 77 percent in the first half against one of the nation's top defensive teams and led by 23 points in the second half. The Spiders withstood a 19-4 burst by Temple and became the first team to surpass its scoring average against the Owls this season.
Temple (19-5, 7-2) lost for just the second time in 10 games and fell into a tie with the Spiders near the top of the conference standings.
Lavoy Allen led Temple with 17 points and 19 rebounds and Ramone Moore scored 17 points.
No. 16 Wisconsin 62,
Michigan 44
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jason Bohannon scored 18 points to lead No. 16 Wisconsin to a 62-44 victory over Michigan on Saturday.
Trevon Hughes added 14 points and Jordan Taylor had 13 for the Badgers (18-5, 8-3 Big Ten), who were 9 of 13 from 3-point range in the first half in taking a 40-26 lead.
DeShawn Sims scored 18 points and Manny Harris added 11 for the Wolverines (11-12, 4-7).
Hughes had 3-pointers at the start and end of a 14-0 run midway through the first half that gave Wisconsin a double-digit lead it held the rest of the way.
Oklahoma 80,
No. 9 Texas 71
NORMAN, Okla. — Tommy Mason-Griffin scored 24 points, Cade Davis added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the second double-double of his career and Oklahoma beat No. 9 Texas 80-71 on Saturday in a game dedicated to the memory of late Sooners star Wayman Tisdale.
The Longhorns (19-4, 5-3 Big 12) cut a 19-point, second-half deficit to five in the final 2 minutes but were hampered the whole game by the same free-throw shooting woes that have been an Achilles' heel all season.
Marquette 82,
Providence 79
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Lazar Hayward scored 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Marquette to an 82-79 comeback win over Providence on Saturday.
Jimmy Butler finished with 19 points and seven rebounds for the Golden Eagles (15-8, 6-5 Big East), who found themselves playing from behind against a team they beat by 30 points at home Jan. 17.
Wake Forest 64,
Virginia 61, OT
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — Ishmael Smith scored 15 points and dished out five assists to lead Wake Forest to a 64-61 overtime win over Virginia on Saturday.
Al-Farouq Aminu had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Demon Deacons (16-5, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who improved to 4-0 in overtime games this season.
Dayton 90, Xavier 65
DAYTON, Ohio — Chris Johnson started Dayton's opening 17-3 run on Saturday, and the Flyers led by double-digits the rest of the way in a 90-65 victory that knocked Xavier out of first place in the Atlantic 10.
Dayton (16-6, 5-3) was picked to win the Atlantic 10, but came into the game needing to split its season series with Xavier — the three-time defending champion — to stay in contention. The Flyers had lost eight of their last nine against the Musketeers (16-7, 8-2).
Johnson led a balanced offense with 18 points. Chris Wright added 17 and nine rebounds.
Xavier got into foul trouble fast and never recovered, finishing with its most lopsided loss of the season. Senior center Jason Love picked up two fouls in the opening 64 seconds, and backup Kenny Frease joined him on the bench at the 16:37 mark.
Jordan Crawford led Xavier with 24 points.
Texas Tech 81,
Oklahoma State 74
LUBBOCK, Texas — John Roberson scored a season-high 28 points to lead Texas Tech past Oklahoma State 81-74 on Saturday.
The win halted a two-game skid for the Red Raiders (15-7, 3-5 Big 12) and extended the Cowboys' losing streak to three.
The Red Raiders started the second half with a 13-4 run to go up 48-30 with about 15 minutes remaining. They had no turnovers in the first 10 minutes.
The Cowboys used an 18-7 run to pull within 63-57, and cut the deficit to 65-61 on two free throws by Ray Penn with 3:38 left but could get no closer.
Keiton Page scored 22 points to lead Oklahoma State (16-7, 4-5).
Texas Tech held James Anderson, the nation's seventh-leading scorer (22.8 average), to 10 points, matching his season low.
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