Sports —

Ruthie Braunstein/The Hoya Sophomore Victor Samnick scored 14 points in GU’s win over West Virginia. It wasn’t a 24-point blowout this time, but the Georgetown men’s basketball team’s 94-77 win over West Virginia on Saturday was enough to put an end to the Hoyas’ three-game Big East losing streak.

This is the second time Georgetown (19-3, 6-3 Big East) has defeated Big East West Division competitor West Virginia (12-7, 3-5) this season. The Hoyas trounced the Mountaineers 90-66 in organtown, W.Va., on Jan. 3. Coming after losses to Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and No. 9 Syracuse (with a win over UNLV in between), the win over the Mountaineers gave the Hoyas a much-needed lift with eight conference games left in the season.

“We’re back,” Head Coach Craig Esherick said after the win. “Temporarily, at least, we’re back.”

With double-digit performances from five players, the win helped the Hoyas bounce back from their 70-63 loss to No. 9 Syracuse last onday.

Sophomore guard Demetrius Hunter ignited the Hoya offense in the first half with 19 points, shooting 4 for 4 from three-point range. He also played significant minutes at the point position as Esherick rested junior guard Kevin Braswell. Sophomore forward Victor Samnick was an offensive threat early in the game. Coming off the bench, Samnick scored 10 points for Georgetown, including a thunderous dunk. Senior center Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje scored for the first time in two games, contributing all eight of his points in the second half.

Calvin Bowman led all scorers with 23 while freshman forward ichael Sweetney led the Hoyas and tied his career-high point record with 20. Hunter contributed 19 points while Braswell and Samnick each put up 14 and Perry posted 10.

The Mountaineers pulled close at the end of the second half with a series of free throws. West Virginia point guard Tim Lyles hit six foul shots and Bowman sank two to bring the score to 49-41.

Georgetown got the ball and a chance to close out the half with a basket, but Hunter missed his shot, and West Virginia got the rebound. Lyles tossed it downcourt to Bowman who dunked to end the half with the Hoyas up 49-43.

When swingman Josh Yeager made a layup two minutes into the second half, West Virginia pulled within two points, 54-52. Sweetney hit a jumper seconds later to put Georgetown up 56-52, giving the Hoyas a solid lead for the rest of the game.

The Hoya bigmen turned up their performances in the second half, with Sweetney scoring 12 points and Boumtje-Boumtje pulling down 10 boards, his highest total since the last time the Hoyas faced the ountaineers.

By the end of the second half, the Mountaineers looked tired, struggling against the Hoya press and unable to get the ball inside. The Georgetown defense limited West Virginia’s options, once forcing the Mountaineers to incur a five-second violation on an inbound pass.

With West Virginia down 79-61 late in the second half, Lyles and forward Chris Moss gave the Mountaineers’ offense a lift to narrow the Hoyas’ advantage. Lyles hit a three and Moss sank two shots to bring the score to 79-68.

But a spectacular Braswell steal at half court two minutes later gave the Hoyas the momentum back. On the fast break, Braswell passed behind his back to Sweetney who dunked, bolstering the Hoyas’ lead to 83-70.

West Virginia accumulated 18 fouls in the second half compared to Georgetown’s 13, putting the Hoyas on the line more in the second half. Georgetown’s free throw shooting percentage improved from 63 percent in the Syracuse contest to 81 percent against West Virginia. Late game points at the foul line from Braswell (4 for 4 on free throws) and Boumtje-Boumtje (6 for 6) gave the Hoyas an 11-point boost. Yeager and center Ales Chan, who accumulated five fouls in four minutes, both fouled out, as did Sweetney.

On West Virginia’s final possession, senior guard Anthony Perry stripped the ball from Lyles, who then fouled Perry with 8.4 seconds left in the game. Perry hit his first free throw, provided Georgetown with a 94-77 edge and mark the game’s final score.

Hunter spent more minutes on the bench in the second half, sidelined by an aggravated leg injury that occurred earlier in the week during practice. Esherick said he expected Hunter to be fully recovered this week.