In the game following Georgetown’s impressive thrashing of Duke, the Hoyas suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of a lesser Big East opponent. Georgetown made sure there was no such letdown after the win over Villanova. The Hoyas overcame a mid-game slump and a eight-point second half deficit to defeat Providence 79-70, improving to 8-4 in Big East play.

Georgetown began the game well, using an 11 point run to take a 18-11 lead midway though the first half. However, Greg Monroe would pick up his second foul, and spent most of the remainder of the half on the bench. Without Monroe to help guide the offense, Georgetown’s scoring faltered, and Providence took a two point lead into halftime, 33-31.

The Friars came out shooting in the second half, hitting two quick threes to stretch their lead to eight. But, the Hoyas regained their composure, and slowly chipped away, eventually taking a six point lead.

With Georgetown back in the lead, the Friars tried to amp up their defensive pressure, but this left them susceptible to back-door cuts and the Hoyas took full advantage, ending the game with 20 assists on 30 shots.

Providence kept themselves in the game with offensive rebounding, with 22 of their 40 rebounds coming on the offensive end, but the Friars could never get over the hump, missing their last nine three-point attempts as they struggled to catch up to the Hoyas. The loss puts the Friars at 4-8 in the conference, with a very difficult stretch coming up. Their next three games are against Villanova, West Virginia, and Syracuse.

The Hoyas used a well-balanced offensive attack to take control of the game, with Chris Wright leading the team with 21 points, while Julian Vaughn added a career-high 19. Greg Monroe was three rebounds short of a triple-double with 12 points, 12 career-high assists, and seven boards. Jamine Peterson had 23 points for the Friars, who shot just 34.4% from the field in the loss.

Next up for Georgetown is a Valentine’s Day match-up with Rutgers. Tip-off between the Scarlet Knights and the Hoyas is at 4 PM on Sunday.