INDIANAPOLIS — D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 16 points in his return to his hometown, helping Georgetown hold on for a 60-54 victory over No. 21 Butler on Tuesday night.
The Hoyas (19-9, 11-6 Big East) have won four of their last five and still have a chance at the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big East tournament.
Butler (21-9, 11-6 Big East) was led by Kameron Woods with 15 points and 16 rebounds but couldn’t pull off the late comeback on Senior Night. The Bulldogs have lost only three home games this season.
Georgetown closed the first half on a 15-4 run that gave it a 30-24 lead. The Hoyas opened the second half with consecutive baskets to extend the lead to 34-24.
Butler charged back when Kellen Dunham scored eight points in a 1:59 span, but Georgetown answered by scoring the next five points and the Hoyas never trailed again.
In some ways, the win defied logic. Georgetown was outrebounded 39-20, including 17-2 on the offensive glass, and was outscored 15-2 on second-chance points.
In other ways, it came with coach John Thompson III’s trademark signature — defense.
The Hoyas held Butler to 35.3 percent shooting and gave up only those eight points to Dunham. The Big East’s third-leading scorer finished 3-for-12 from the field and was held scoreless for the first 26 1/2 minutes and the last 11 1/2 minutes.
Alex Barlow scored 13 points in his home finale — a night when the Bulldogs were 8-for-20 from the free throw line.
Butler rallied to take a 40-39 lead midway through the second half, and got as close as 54-52 when Andrew Chrabascz hit a 3-pointer with 3:02 to play. Barlow’s layup with 52.1 seconds left made it 56-54. After Joshua Smith missed the front end of a 1-and-1 for Georgetown with 10.2 seconds to go, it looked like the Bulldogs had a chance.
But Smith-Rivera poked away the rebound from Woods, made two free throws, stole the inbound pass and made two more free throws.
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