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Big East Roundup: Hoyas snow on Wildcats' win streak
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One week earlier, President Barack Obama was in attendance. On Saturday, the Georgetown Hoyas further displayed their drawing power by attracting more than 10,000 fans on a day when a fierce snowstorm blanketed the nation's capital.
Those who trudged through an estimated 2 feet of snow were rewarded with a game they won't soon forget.
Austin Freeman scored 25 points, Jason Clark had 24 and Georgetown forced 16 first-half turnovers in a 103-90 victory that ended No. 2 Villanova's 11-game winning streak and ruined the Wildcats' perfect Big East record.
The Hoyas (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.
"That was not one of our better performances, but you've got to give Georgetown most of the credit. They jumped on us," Wildcats coach Jay Wright said.
Villanova scored 59 points in the second half, but its bid to erase the deficit was blunted by Georgetown's success at the free-throw line. The Hoyas finished 39 of 50, and more than half of their second-half points were the result of free throws.
Their parade to the free-throw line was led by Greg Monroe, who went 11 of 14 and scored 19 points and had eight rebounds and six assists. Villanova scored only 17 points on 23 free throws.
Guard Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher each scored 24 points for the Wildcats, whose winning streak included an 82-77 victory Jan. 17 against Georgetown. Villanova's other loss was Dec. 13 to Temple.
"Just because we lost today, nothing changes," Reynolds said. "We'll do what we have to do to be the best team at the end of the season."
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 crowd at Verizon Center was 10,387. Several Georgetown students walked 3 miles from campus to help fill the seats behind both baselines.
"For everyone to come out, it's truly appreciated," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said.
• West Virginia 79, St. John's 60: The No. 6 Mountaineers scored 16 consecutive points after trailing the Red Storm (12-10, 2-8), 45-32, six minutes into the second half to cap off their rally. Da'Sean Butler scored a season-high 33 points, hitting all seven 3-point attempts for West Virginia (19-3, 8-2).
• Marquette 82, Providence 79: The Friars (12-11, 4-7) controlled most of the game but the Golden Eagles (15-8, 6-5) took the helm behind solid defense and Lazar Hayward's 28 points.
• Louisville 76, Rutgers 60: An 8-2 run helped stave off a late-game comeback from the Scarlet Knights (11-12, 2-9). Samardo Samuels led the Cardinals (15-8, 6-4) with 14 points and 11 boards.
• Connecticut 64, DePaul 57: The Huskies (14-9, 4-6) improved to 3-3 in games without coach Jim Calhoun. Will Walker led DePaul (8-15, 1-10) with 24 points.
First Published February 7, 2010 12:26 am
