Jan. 5, 2006
WASHINGTON (AP) - Ashanti Cook scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half, and Georgetown survived 15 first-half turnovers to beat Providence 72-62 Thursday night in the BIG EAST opener for both teams.
After trailing 30-24 at the break, the Hoyas opened the second half with a 20-4 run to take the lead for good. The highlight was Roy Hibbert's spin move in the paint that turned into a one-handed dunk and a three-point play, putting Georgetown ahead 44-34 with 11:53 to play.
Brandon Bowman had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Hibbert had 16 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out, and Jonathan Wallace scored 15 points for the Hoyas (9-2, 1-0), who finished with a season-high 22 turnovers as they won their sixth straight. They outrebounded the Friars 28-11 in the second half while avenging last year's regular season-ending loss, when a last-second shot virtually ended Georgetown's hopes of making the NCAA tournament.
Randall Hanke had 17 points and seven blocks, and Donnie McGrath scored 17 for the Friars (7-5, 0-1).
Ball-handling trouble put the Hoyas in a 23-14 hole before their only good stretch of the half - jumpers by Bowman, Wallace and Jessie Sapp - that cut the lead to one. But four more Hoyas turnovers in the final three minutes of the half allowed the Friars a 7-0 run that put Providence ahead by six at halftime.
Cook spurred Georgetown's run to open the second half, scoring on a 3-pointer, a steal and layup, and a putback. Meanwhile, Providence started 0-for-7 with four turnovers before Hanke's layup six minutes into the half.
