Feb. 25, 2012
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
WASHINGTON, D.C. - - Villanova got one starter back Saturday - Maalik Wayns - but played most of the game without two others (James Bell, and JayVaughn Pinkston) and fell to Georgetown here at the Verizon Center by the score of 67-46.
The No. 9 Hoyas are now 21-6 overall, 11-5 in the BIG EAST while Villanova dips to 11-17 overall, 4-12 in conference action.
Junior Dominic Cheek led the 'Cats with 19 points. Otto Porter and Jason Clark paced four Hoyas in double figures with 15 points.
"I thought Georgetown was great," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "I love their defense and their balance."
Bell missed his third consecutive game with a sprained left ankle suffered against USF on Feb. 15. Pinkston stepped on a basketball in pre-game warm-ups and injured his left ankle. He did not start and played only two minutes due to the injury.
Wayns logged 36 minutes but the rust was evident as he scored just three points on the day. It was his first game action since suffering a sprained MCL on Feb. 7.
"He just needs to play," stated Wright. "He really only practiced yesterday so this was kind of what I expected. He didn't have great lift on some of his drives or on his jumper."
Georgetown scored the game's first six points and quickly established that its defense would be a challenge for the Wildcats to dissect. Jason Clark supplied the early offensive spark for the Hoyas on "Senior Day", scoring nine points as GU built a 15-6 lead midway through the period.
Without Pinkston and with Wayns seeing his first action in more than two weeks, Villanova struggled to develop an offensive flow.
Georgetown's lead was 27-11 with 3:48 to play in the period.
But the Wildcats used a 15-2 run over the final minutes of the half to draw to within 27-23 with just over one minute to play. A Hoya triple made the score 30-23 in favor of Georgetown.
Cheek tallied 13 of the 'Cats 23 points in the period.
The Wildcats shaved the deficit to six points but the Hoyas' kept a comfortable distance thanks to their work on the boards. The Hoyas had a 28-15 edge on the glass eight minutes into the second half - four players had five or more boards.
"They do a great job on the glass," said Wright.
Villanova trailed 44-33 at that juncture of the contest. A Hollis Thompson basket off a Wildcats turnover and another field by Henry Sims created a 48-33 advantage with just under 11 minutes to play.
The 'Cats battled to produce points the rest of the afternoon as Georgetown controlled the tempo and the glass. The lead grew to 54-36 with 5:27 on the clock.
"Our guys didn't quit," said Wright, "but playing hard isn't enough against a great team like Georgetown. You have to execute."
Next up for the Wildcats is a visit to Rutgers on Thursday evening (9:00 p.m./ESPN2/ESPN 950 Radio.)
