Sean McDermott's seventh 3-pointer of the game with 49 seconds left snapped a tie Tuesday night and lifted No. 16 Butler to a 69-64 Big East Conference win over host Georgetown at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Kamar Baldwin added two free throws with 32 seconds remaining as the Bulldogs (17-4, 5-3 Big East) overcame a 43-29 deficit late in the first half to win their second straight game. McDermott finished with a game-high 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting, while Baldwin scored 13 and dished out six assists.
Omer Yurtseven scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Hoyas (12-9, 2-6), while Mac McClung added 12 points but made only 4 of 16 shots. Jagan Mosely chipped in 11 and Qudus Wahab hit for 10 points.
Georgetown trailed 64-60, but tied the game on a layup by Mosely with 1:55 on the clock and two free throws by Yurtseven at the 1:29 mark. However, the Hoyas couldn't come up with the big stop and lost for the fourth time in five games.
Butler slapped the clamps on Georgetown in the second half, limiting it to 7-for-33 shooting (21.2 percent) from the field. The Bulldogs also cut their turnovers down to three after halftime compared to 12 in the first half.
Georgetown controlled most of the first half with a balanced attack, unlike its method most of the season. McClung and Yurtseven usually do most of the scoring for the Hoyas, but they got help from Mosely (six first-half points), Wahab (eight) and Terrell Allen (nine).
Mosely connected on two foul shots with 10:28 left in the half to give the Hoyas the lead at 14-12, and they would expand on it later. A 10-3 run, capped by McClung's 3-pointer off a Butler turnover, made it 35-24 with 3:41 showing and forced a Bulldogs timeout.
The margin grew to 14 on two occasions later in the half before Jordan Tucker's 3-ball with 37 seconds remaining enabled Butler to head for the locker room down 43-32. Georgetown converted a dozen turnovers into 17 points and canned 13 of 14 free throws.
--Field Level Media
