Georgetown advances with 10-point win over Eastern Washington
PORTLAND, Ore. — No. 4 Georgetown used an 18-2 run to overhaul No. 13 Eastern Washington late in the first half, then started the second half with a 15-2 run on its way to an 84-74 victory Thursday night in an NCAA Tournament second-round game at the Moda Center.
Guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half to lead the Hoyas (22-10) to their seventh win in the last nine games. Smith-Rivera also grabbed eight rebounds and was 9-for-13 from the foul line.
Forward Mikael Hopkins added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the winners, who got 45 points from their bench players.
Guard Tyler Harvey scored 27 points and forward Venky Jois collected 19 points and eight rebounds for the Eagles (26-9), whose five-game win streak was snapped.
Georgetown will play Utah in Saturday’s third round.
Reserves contributed 30 points as Georgetown swept to a 43-33 halftime lead. The fourth-seeded Hoyas shot .593 from the field and knocked down 7 of 13 shots from 3-point range in the half. Harvey had 13 for the Eagles at intermission.
The Hoyas outscored Eastern Washington 15-2 to start the second half to jack their lead to 58-35. The Eagles used a 23-10 run to get within 68-58 with 3:20 remaining. Six points by Harvey — on a four-point play and a pair of free throws — cut the difference to 76-68 with 52 seconds to go, but the Eagles ran out of time.
Harvey scored 10 of Eastern Washington’s first 18 points and helped stake the Eagles to a 24-17 lead. Hayes’ two free throws gave Georgetown the lead at 30-29 with 4:45 to play in the half, part of an 18-2 run that produced a 43-31 advantage. The Hoyas settled for a 10-point edge at the break.
NOTES: Georgetown played 15 games against eight teams that made the NCAA Tournament field. … Smith-Rivera was a first-team All-Big East selection with 16.2 points per game. … Georgetown C Joshua Smith, a 6-10, 350-pound senior out of Kent, Wash., scored two points in seven foul-plagued minutes. Smith played two seasons for UCLA before transferring after the 2011-12 season. … Harvey entered the game leading the nation with a 22.9-point scoring average. The former walk-on came into the tournament shooting .429 from 3-point range. … This is the second time the Eagles have made the NCAA Tournament. The other time was in 2004. … one of the Eagles’ assistant coaches is David Riley, the nephew of former Oregon State football coach Mike Riley.
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