Feb. 18, 2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Roy Hibbert had 18 points inside, Jonathan Wallace added 14 from the outside and No. 12 Georgetown beat Providence 68-58 on Monday.

The Hoyas (21-4, 11-3 Big East) came in having lost two of three games and they struggled against Providence's 2-3 zone for the opening half and first 5 minutes of the second half.

Then came a 3-point barrage led by Wallace as Georgetown hit five from behind the arc in a 17-2 run that gave the Hoyas a 52-43 lead.

Wallace, who missed three of his first four 3-point attempts, hit three 3s in the run, including two from almost the exact same spot on the court just to the left of the head of the key. The net barely moved on both baskets.

Weyinmi Efejuku had 25 points for the Friars (13-13, 4-10), who have lost four straight and eight of nine. Providence came into the game tied for 13th in the Big East and only the top 12 teams advance to next month's conference tournament.

Providence came in allowing opponents to shoot 45 percent from the field, the 15th-worst figure in the 16-team conference. But the zone did its job for most of the game except for the run when Tyler Crawford and Jeremiah Rivers hit the two 3s in addition to Wallace's three long jumpers.

The Friars led 41-35 before the big run started but they went almost 8 minutes with one field goal. Brian McKenzie's 3-pointer ended Georgetown's run and made it 52-46 with 8:04 left.

Providence was within 54-49 on a 3 by Efejuku but the Hoyas scored six straight points, the last two on a fastbreak dunk after a steal by Patrick Ewing Jr. with 4:50 to go.

Hibbert had eight rebounds for the Hoyas, who finished with a 43-26 advantage on the boards.

Wallace finished 4-for-8 from 3-point range and the Hoyas were 8-for-21 after starting 3-for-14.

McKenzie had 16 points for Providence, which was 8-for-17 on 3s led by Efejuku's 5-for-6, the only miss coming in the final seconds.

Providence finished 21-for-47 from the field (44.7 percent), well above the national-leading 35.7 percent Georgetown allowed opponents to shoot entering the game.