UConn beats Georgetown behind Bouknight

Neill Ostrout, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·2 min read

Feb. 24—The UConn men's basketball team picked up a big road win just when it needed one to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

James Bouknight had 20 points and 10 rebounds, helping UConn beat Georgetown 70-57 late Tuesday night in Washington.

R.J. Cole added 17 points, seven assists, six steals, and five rebounds for the Huskies (11-6, 8-6 Big East).

Qudus Wahab led Georgetown (7-11, 5-8), which had won four of its last six games, with a career-high 18 points. Jamorko Pickett and Dante Harris added 10 each.

The Huskies scored the game's first 10 points, surrendered the lead by halftime, then pulled away with a 12-2 run midway through the second half.

"Obviously got off to a blistering start. Just kind of lost our way there the rest of the first half. It was ugly offensively," UConn coach Dan Hurley said.

UConn made only two 3-pointers but held a huge 46-30 advantage on the backboards. Georgetown entered the game leading the league in rebound margin.

UConn had lost five straight games at Georgetown, not winning a road game against the Hoyas since Jan. 8, 2005. The Huskies and Hoyas weren't playing in the Capital One Arena as usual Tuesday, but at McDonough Arena on the Georgetown campus.

Tuesday was Patrick Ewing's first game against UConn as Georgetown's head coach. He went 8-1 against the Huskies as a player for the Hoyas.

UConn trailed 26-25 after a rather ugly first half. The Huskies wasted that early double-digit lead by going scoreless for six minutes and 40 seconds late in the half.

Georgetown used a 9-0 run, not to mention an unlikely 3-pointer by Jamari Sibley near the halftime buzzer, to take a narrow lead at the break.

Before the anemic offense arrived, UConn put together easily its best start of the season, and reversed a trend that had seen it start extremely slow in recent weeks. The Huskies hit their first five shots in the game, three by Adama Sanogo and two by Bouknight, while holding Georgetown scoreless for the game's opening 3-and-a-half minutes.

But that opening salvo was followed by a litany of misses. UConn's only field goal in the final seven minutes of the first half came on an alley-oop in the final minute from Cole to Bouknight.

It was the 67th meeting between the teams, but the first in a Big East Conference game in eight years.

Neill covers UConn men's basketball and UConn football teams, and he keeps a finger on the pulse of Connecticut sports. For live game updates, and more insight into UConn athletics, player transfers, and team changes, follow Neill on Twitter: @NeillOstrout, Facebook: JINeillO, and Instagram: @NeillOstrout.