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 Freshman forward Ben Bentil had 16 points and 11 rebounds as
Providence rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half for a
74-71 win over No. 24 Georgetown on Wednesday night.
Forward LaDontae Henton scored 16 points and guard Kris Dunn had 12
points, nine assists and six steals for the Friars (17-6, 7-3), who
entered 0-31 on the road against ranked opponents since 2004.
Georgetown (15-7, 7-4) went the final 7:41 without a field goal and
committed 15 turnovers overall. The Hoyas lost two straight home
games.
Guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 21 points and made five
3-pointers for the Hoyas but his game-tying attempt in the final
seconds rimmed out. Forward Isaac Copeland had 10 points.
Georgetown entered Wednesday tied with Butler in the Big East,
percentage points behind first-place Villanova and one-half game
ahead of Providence.
Providence, which won the first meeting at home last month,
outscored Georgetown 22-7 after trailing 59-46 with 11:41 remaining.
Most of the surge took place with their floor leader watching from
the bench with four fouls. Dunn also played with a back injury that
kept him out of practice the past two days.
 "When a talent like Kris Dunn goes off the floor, you're just hoping
your young kids have gone through enough games to weather a storm
against a great team," Providence coach Ed Cooley said. "Their
energy was good. LaDonatae was able to get loose for a couple of
baskets. The game kind of got haywire. Big East basketball."
The lead changed sides four times on free throws in the final 1:51.
Friars forward Carson Desrosiers scored 10 of his 14 points in the
second half, including two free throws with 32 seconds left for a
72-71 lead.
Georgetown freshman guard L.J. Peak inbounded the ball under
Providence's basket with 11 seconds remaining. Dunn tipped the pass
for his sixth steal, leading to Bentil's two free throws with 10
seconds left for a 74-71 lead.
"Isaac popped out, they denied him," Georgetown coach John Thompson
III said of the inbounds pass. "Everybody stood and watched instead
of moving to get open."
Providence scored 20 points off Georgetown's turnovers. That formula
also led to the Friars' Hoyas 60-57 in overtime on Jan. 10 in
Providence.
"We didn't take care of the ball," Thompson said. "We can't go
through stretches where we aren't getting shots. They did a good job
playing the passing lanes."
Center Joshua Smith had 10 points before fouling out in the final
minute for the Hoyas. Guard Tre Campbell also scored 10 points.
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Henton, the Big East's leading scorer, added 10 in the second half.
Providence shot 53.5 percent from the field against a Georgetown
defense that led the Big East in defensive field goal percentages.
The Friars zone schemes held the Hoyas to 42.6 percent.
"I think we defended pretty well today," Smith-Rivera said, "but at
key moments we got lackadaisical."
Both offenses performed better early in the rematch. Copeland scored
eight straight points as the Hoyas led 34-26, but they fell behind
after a Dunn-fueled 9-0 run before entering halftime back on top.
Smith-Rivera scored 11 points. His third 3-pointer of the half in
the final seconds put Georgetown ahead 41-38 despite eight points,
eight assists and four steals by Dunn.
The Hoyas sank 6 of 12 3-pointers in the opening half. They were 4
of 17 against the Friars' zone defense last month in Providence.
"Man, there are a lot of different things you can talk about that
game," Cooley said. "It was kind of three games in one. Very
emotional."
NOTES: F LaDontae Henton broke the Friars record for career starts
at 123. ... Providence plays its third straight road game on
Saturday at Xavier. F LaDontae Henton and G Kris Dunn had 24 and 20
points, respectively, against the Musketeers in a 69-66 overtime win
in Providence on Jan. 22. ... Georgetown faces No. 7 Villanova in
Philadelphia on Saturday. The Hoyas routed the then-No. 4 Wildcats
78-58 on Jan. 19.
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