2/27/2002

MORGANTOWN, W.VA. ? Mike Sweetney scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead Georgetown to an 87-77 victory over West Virginia Wednesday night in Morgantown.

Sweetney was one of five Hoya players to reach double figures. Wesley Wilson scored 17, Gerald Riley contributed 16, Kevin Braswell had 11 and Tony Bethel tallied 10.

Georgetown (17-10, 8-7) kept its slim NCAA tournament hopes alive and must also win at Rutgers Saturday and advance in the Big East tournament next week. Georgetown is one of several Big East teams still in contention for an NCAA bid.

"This was a big win for us, we can't overlook that," said Georgetown coach Craig Esherick. "Now we have to look ahead to an important game against Rutgers."

The Mountaineers kept things close in the first half, trailing by just three at the break. In the second half, Georgetown went on a 10-2 spurt to turn a two-point lead into a 10-point advantage, 52-42 after a three by Tony Bethel with 15:24 remaining.

The Hoyas built their lead to 15 and then 19 points with 5:06 to go.

"I think the key to our great second half was Tony Bethel and Gerald Riley hitting some big threes," Esherick said.

Senior Chris Moss finished his home career at WVU with a 22-point, 13-rebound double-double. Chaz Briggs scored 14 points, Jonathan Hargett had 13, Drew Schifino 12 and Josh Yeager 10 for the Mountaineers.