File Photo/Charles Nailen/The Hoya Gerald Riley drives past the competition on his way to scoring 19 points.

The Georgetown men’s basketball team found itself in a familiar situation against Miami on Saturday – up by one with 21 seconds to go. But the outcome this time was different, as the Hoyas, who had lost five of their last six games decided by five points or fewer, pulled out a 74-72 win.

The victory puts Georgetown (12-11, 4-8) in sixth place in the Big East West Division, one spot ahead of Rutgers. The last-place team in each division is not invited to the conference tournament.

Sophomore guard Tony Bethel made what both teams’ head coaches called “the play of the game” with seven seconds remaining. Bethel had turned the ball over amid a throng of iami defenders, and ‘Cane junior forward Darius Rice had recovered the ball and thrown a pass toward the Hurricane’s basket. But Bethel hustled to make up for his mistake, stole the ball, and launched it downcourt to freshman guard Brandon Bowman, who made a free throw to seal the game.

“I felt so bad I made the turnover, so I wanted to hustle back and get the ball back,” Bethel said.

The two quick turnovers were typical of the somewhat sloppy game, in which the two teams combined for 42 fouls and 44 turnovers.

Georgetown junior forward Mike Sweetney led the Hoyas’ charge with 24 points and 10 boards; junior guard Gerald Riley scored 19.

The ‘Canes spread their scoring around, with five players in double figures.

Rice, Miami’s leading scorer, who is averaging 19 points per game, was held to just 12 by Georgetown’s double-teaming defense.

“I thought Darius [Rice] rushed himself when people pushed up on him,” Miami Head Coach Perry Clark told The Washington Post.

Georgetown started out slow in the first half, shooting 32 percent. They were down four at the break.

In the second half, the Hoyas shot at a 57 percent clip and built their biggest lead of the game, six points, with 1:52 remaining. But free throws and layups by Armonod Surrat and Robert Hite cut the Hoyas’ lead to one with 21 seconds to play.

Head Coach Craig Esherick seemed to rotate lineups slightly differently than he has in the past, with sophomore guard Darrell Owens seeing 18 minutes and sophomore guard Drew Hall playing just eight.

Georgetown takes on Providence (13-11, 6-7) tonight for the first time this season. The Friars are on a three-game winning streak. Their leading scorer is sophomore forward Ryan Gomes, who averages 18 points per game.

Tip-off against the Friars is at 7:30 p.m. tonight at MCI Center.