A rally by Cincinnati kept the Bearcats in the game against top-seeded Georgetown, but Otto Porter and the Hoyas responded, advancing to the Big East semifinals with a 62-43 win.
Cincinnati vs. Georgetown final score: Hoyas put down Bearcats rally
Georgetown was up big early, but Cincinnati managed to take a lead -- briefly -- in the second half, before the Hoyas won by 19 and put a dent in Cincy’s bubble hopes.
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At first, Georgetown looked primed to blow the game open. The surprise early star was Jabril Trawick, who was outscoring the Bearcats, 8-5, at one point thanks to a pair of threes, and it looked like things were getting out of hand. Down nine, Mick Cronin was called for a technical, and threes by Otto Porter and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, with a backcourt turnover by Cincinnati mixed in, made the score 24-8.
Then, Cincinnati's stars got hot. Cashmere Wright and JaQuon Parker made three-pointers on three straight possessions, and another three by Wright and a pair of Cincy free throws sent the Bearcats into the break down just five after trailing by as much as 16.
Parker came back from halftime fired up. He came away with two straight steals and four straight transition points -- two free throws and a layup -- to cut the lead to one, and after giving up a bucket, a three from Wright tied the game at 31.
The Bearcats went on to take a lead, but it was short-lived. Georgetown would score seven straight and kept the lead growing as Cincinnati was left hoisting threes. The Hoyas would extend the advantage steadily until the final buzzer.
Porter unsurprisingly led Georgetown, finishing with 18 thanks to a bunch of late free throws. A hideous 2-of-12 performance from Sean Kilpatrick -- he missed all eight of his three-point attempts -- killed the Bearcats. Wright had 14 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting, but it wasn't enough. It didn't help that Cincinnati turned the ball over 14 times.
Cincinnati came into the game as a bubble team, not necessarily out of the tournament with a loss to an elite team like Georgetown, but possibly locked into the dance with a win. With the loss, the Bearcats will be sweating on Selection Sunday.
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