2/15/2003

The Hoyas ended a 6 game skid on 2/15/03, defeating the Hokies of Virginia Tech, 85-73.  Gerald Riley paced all scorers with a career high 31 points. Gerald hit 10 of 20 from the field, 6 of 7 from beyond the arc and 5 of 6 from the charity stripe. Mike Sweetney contributed 25 points and led Georgetown?s rebounding effort with 8 caroms. Tony Bethel rounded out the trio of Hoyas in double figures with 10 tallies. Tony also dished out 5 assists as did fellow guard Drew Hall.

In the first half the Hoyas trailed by 4 at the first timeout, 5-9. After putting together a 15-1 run they led by 10 (20-10) at the 11 minute mark. Less than 5 minutes later the Hokies had a 1 point edge by virtue of a 13-2 run. In the final 6:22, Georgetown?s 19-9 run gave them a 9 point edge at intermission 41-32. Although Sweetney was sidelined for much of the first frame by quick whistles, Gerald Riley brought his ?A? game and scored 16 points including 4-4 from three land, to compensate for Mike?s absence.

In the second frame Georgetown built its lead to as many as 17 before the Hokies got hot and excited the crowd by pairing GU?s edge to 8 with 11:00 remaining. Rather than panic, the Hoyas maintained their poise and found Mike Sweetney inside for consecutive layups while applying defensive pressure to move the differential back up to 14. The Hokies came as close as 8 again with 1:47 remaining, but Owens, Riley, Bethel and Owens hit all their freethrows for a 12 point final margin.

For the game, both teams hit 48% of their shots. Georgetown lost the battle of the boards 30-32, but had 3 fewer turnovers and shot 53.3% from beyond the arc while allowing the Hokies only 30.8%. Georgetown also hit 90.5% of their free throws while Va. Tech hit 68.4%.