Huskies Escape Georgetown With 75-74 Victory

(boxscore)

WASHINGTON (February 19, 2002) –  Caron Butler (So, Racine, WI) had 23 points, while Ben Gordon (Fr., Mount Vernon, NY) added 21, including the game-winning three-pointer with 47.1 seconds remaining, as Connecticut escaped with a 75-74 win over Georgetown on Tuesday night at the MCI Center in Washington.

With the win, UConn elevated its record to 18-6 while going to 10-3 in the conference to assure itself a first round bye in the BIG EAST Tournament. Georgetown, slipped to 15-10 overall and 6-7 in the league.  

Tied at 72, Gordon made his fourth three to put the Huskies up for good. Georgetown’s Kevin Braswell hit a pair of free throws to make it a one point game. Connecticut ran out most of the shot clock before Butler launched a three with four seconds left in the game. Georgetown grabbed the rebound and had its chance to win, but Braswell raced to the other end of the court and passed the ball to Gerald Riley as time expired.

The two teams stayed even for much of the first half before UConn had a scoring drought that lasted nearly six minutes. Georgetown put together a 10-0 run during that span to open a 37-28 lead marking its largest of the night. UConn responded with a 10-3 run of its own and closed the half with Gordon sinking a floater to get it to within two, 40-38, at the break.

For the fourth time in his career Taliek Brown (So., Queens, NY) reached double figures in assists with 10, while Emeka Okafor (Fr., Houston, TX) came up with 11 rebounds. Braswell scored 19 to lead Georgetown, and Mike Sweetney had 16. Wesley Wilson finished with a double-double behind a dozen points and ten boards.

UConn returns home for a Saturday, Feb. 23 contest against the Mountaineers of West Virginia at Gampel Pavilion. Game time is set for Noon.