No. 21 Miami Edges No. 24 Georgetown, 79-71
Jan 2, 2002
By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) – James Jones scored 22 points and No. 21 Miami tied aschool record with its 14th straight victory, a 79-71 win over No. 24Georgetown on Wednesday night.
Jones made three of the Hurricanes’ 10 3-pointers as Miami’s long distanceshooting helped overcome a strong second-half rally by the Hoyas. Georgetowntied the Big East opener for both teams five times after trailing by as many as14 points but was never able to take the lead.
The Hurricanes (14-0) remained one of five unbeaten teams in Division Ialong with Duke, Virginia, Oklahoma State and Butler.
All five Miami starters are averaging double figures, and they all got 10 ormore again. Jones was 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-pointrange where the Hurricanes were 10-for-26 for the game.
Miami, which also had a 14-game winning streak in 1947, can break the schoolrecord Saturday at Connecticut.
Mike Sweetney scored 25 points to lead the Hoyas (9-4), who have lost threestraight, all to ranked teams.
Courtland Freeland of the Hoyas scored on a tip-in that made it 68-68 with3:48 to play, the last time the score was tied. Elton Tyler made two freethrows, and Marcus Barnes followed with a 3-pointer to put Miami ahead by five,and the Hurricanes sealed the victory by making their free throws over thefinal two minutes.
Barnes finished with 15 points and Tyler had 12. John Salmons had 11 pointsand nine rebounds for Miami, while Darius Rice had 10 points and five rebounds.
Kevin Braswell had 13 points and six assists for Georgetown.
The game had a lifeless and ragged beginning in an atmosphere void ofenergy. The MCI Center was cavernous and quiet with students and cheerleadersaway for the Christmas break and only a few thousand fans on hand. By halftime,there were nearly as many turnovers (22) as made baskets (23), and all fiveGeorgetown starters had at least one steal.
Jones scored the first four points in an 11-0 run that gave the Hurricanes a21-9 lead with 10:25 to go. The junior forward was the only player shootingwell, going 5-of-8, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, as the Hurricanes led37-25 at halftime.
But a strong comeback by the home team can excite even the smallest crowd,and fans were standing after a series of fast break layups started a 21-7 runthat tied the game at 46.
