Eyeing NCAA tourney spot, Providence tops Georgetown

Devin Carter piled up 24 points, 12 rebounds and four steals to propel NCAA Tournament-hopeful Providence to an important 71-58 win over Georgetown on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Josh Oduro added 14 points and nine boards for the Friars (19-11, 10-9 Big East), who entered Tuesday on a two-game skid and one of the first four teams out of the NCAA Tournament field in multiple projections. Providence hosts No. 2 UConn in Saturday's regular-season finale.

Rich Barron sparked the Friars with 11 points on 3-of-5 3-point shooting off the bench. Providence shot 60.9 percent from the field (14 of 23) in the second half and 49.1 percent overall.

Jayden Epps' 16 points led Georgetown (9-21, 2-17) in its sixth straight loss to the Friars. Dontrez Styles had 13 points and eight rebounds, while Rowan Brumbaugh and Drew Fielder chipped in 10 points apiece for the Hoyas.

Providence hit nine 3-pointers to Georgetown's four and outscored the Hoyas 34-22 in the paint.

The Friars hit seven straight shots early in the second half to blossom their 30-29 edge into a 48-35 cushion with 13:32 to play.

Carter supplied the first three baskets and later added his second 3-pointer of the surge to push Providence to its first double-digit lead. Davonte Gaines followed with a four-point play before Oduro's layup punctuated the Frairs' field goal flurry.

Georgetown shaved eight points off its 50-37 deficit behind Fielder and Styles until Carter and the Friars parried with a 7-0 spurt that grew their advantage to 57-45 at the 7:55 mark.

Styles' jumper pulled the Hoyas within 59-52 with 6:26 left, but Providence pulled away at the free-throw line as Georgetown didn't hit another field goal until Styles' trey with eight seconds left closed the scoring.

Carter and Oduro combined for five free throws in the final 4:31 before Carter capped the Friars' win with a two-handed jam and a deep 3-pointer in the closing moments.

Providence held the Hoyas scoreless amid a 6 1/2-minute span in the first half to lead 30-26 at the break.