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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON (AP) – The NCAA Tournament fates were already sealed
for Georgetown (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 21 AP) and Rutgers. The focus instead centered on the
extremes of the Big East tournament Wednesday night.
The Hoyas' 74-58 victory meant Georgetown (22-6,
9-6) kept pace with Syracuse in the battle for second place
in the Big East West Division with one game remaining for each
team. The top two teams in each division get a first-round bye in
the conference tournament that starts March 7.
|  | | Demetrius Hunter, right, and Hoyas teammate Kevin Braswell get hold of a loose rebound. Braswell passed Sleepy Floyd as Georgetown's career steals leader. He has 257 steals. |
"It's something that I want to shoot for," Georgetown coach
Craig Esherick said. "What I would hate to do would be to have to
win four games in a row to win the Big East tournament. It's not
going to be easy for anybody to win the tournament this year the
way the league is going, but it's certainly easier to win three
games instead of four."
Rutgers (11-15, 3-12) missed a chance to control its own destiny
just to qualify for the conference tournament. The last-place team
in each division will stay home, and the Scarlet Knights failed to
take advantage of Seton Hall's loss to Villanova on Wednesday to
move out of the cellar.
"Our fans sit behind the bench at road games," Rutgers coach
Kevin Bannon said. "They're screaming (the Seton Hall score) out,
even during the opening introductions, so our kids were well aware
of what was going on. And it's a shame they lost an opportunity."
Esherick went with his regular starting lineup on Senior Night – he couldn't have started all six seniors anyway – but Lee Scruggs
(14 points) and fellow senior Anthony Perry (11 points) came off
the bench to join Ruben Boumtje Boumtje (15 points), the lone
starting senior, as the top scorers.
Kevin Braswell passed Sleepy Floyd as Georgetown's career
steals leader. The junior point guard passed Floyd, who played from
1978-82, with 5:43 remaining in the first half with his third steal
of the game and 254th of his career. Braswell finished with six
steals and seven assists.
The Hoyas shot just 35 percent, but won the game by turning a
superior height advantage into a 51-38 rebounding edge and by
forcing 18 turnovers.
Todd Billet led Rutgers with 21 points, but the rest of the
lineup was less than exceptional. Rashod Kent had five turnovers
and fouled out with 5:23 to play. Eugene Dabney committed five
fouls in just four minutes, leaving the game for good with 18:43 to
play.
"Let's face it, the last two games we just haven't been
sharp," Bannon said. "The way you can see that is the fouls we
picked up early in the game."
Four 3-pointers – two each from Perry and Scruggs – highlighted
a 14-5 first-half run that gave Georgetown a 25-18 lead.
The Hoyas never trailed again. They led 36-27 at halftime and
pulled away with a 9-0 run that included a three-point play from
Scruggs that made it 58-40 with 11:34 to go.
Rutgers will need a victory over Providence and a loss by Seton
Hall to Connecticut on Saturday to make the Big East tournament,
which the Scarlet Knights would need to win to make the NCAAs.
The Hoyas, NCAA-bound for sure after beating Syracuse before an
emotional sellout crowd last week, wind up their regular season on
Sunday at Notre Dame on national television.
"I was worried that the guys were going to overlook this
game," Esherick said. "And I don't think they did. I think this
game and this victory were just as important as the Syracuse game
in regards to the postseason."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Rutgers Clubhouse
Georgetown Clubhouse
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