Jan. 8, 2005
By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Charlie Villanueva had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead a dominating inside game, Denham Brown scored a season-high 19 points, and No. 10 Connecticut rebounded from a surprise loss in its Big East opener to defeat Georgetown 66-59 Saturday.
The Huskies, stunned at home by Boston College on Wednesday, built a 20-point halftime lead by simply throwing the ball toward the basket and letting their big men go after it. Connecticut overcame 38 percent shooting with 17 offensive rebounds, which they converted into 18 second-chance points, and had an overall 47-32 rebounding advantage.
The Hoyas trailed by 22 early in the second half, then cut the lead to six with an 18-4 run that included three 3-pointers. But Brown stopped the rally almost single-handedly with 12 points in the final 9{ minutes, including a 3-pointer that restored a double-digit lead with 2:53 to play.
Georgetown cut the lead to six again in the final minute on a 3-pointer by Ashanti Cook, but Connecticut made its last four free throws to seal the win.
The Huskies (9-2, 1-1) have eight straight wins over the Hoyas. Connecticut's last loss to Georgetown was a 52-51 defeat at home on Feb. 3, 1997.
Jeff Green scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half for the Hoyas (9-4, 1-1) in the first Big East loss for new coach John Thompson III. Georgetown upset No. 16 Pittsburgh on the road on Wednesday.
Connecticut appeared to break the game open with a 14-2 run to close the first half with a 39-19 lead. The run included dunks by Villanueva, Josh Boone and Brown against a manhandled young Hoyas frontcourt.
Georgetown shot just 25 percent in the first half. A three-point play by Brendan Bowman with 4:36 left in the half made the score a somewhat respectable 25-17, but the Hoyas scored only one more basket before halftime.
The Huskies didn't shoot well either, throwing up more than their share of air balls, but it didn't really matter. When Marcus Williams missed everything from the baseline in the first half, Hilton Armstrong grabbed the ball in the midst of three defenders, then put in a reverse layup while drawing a foul.
In another sequence, Villanueva botched an alley-oop pass to Williams, but Villanueva chased down the ball and again fed Williams, who drew a foul and made two free throws.
Georgetown began to shoot better and box out in the second half, and 3-pointers from Green, Jonathan Wallace and Cook made the game close before Brown took over down the stretch.
