COLLEGE BASKETBALL | Top 25 men’s games

No. 12 Georgetown 68, Providence 58

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Roy Hibbert had 18 points inside, Jonathan Wallace added 14 from the outside for No. 12 Georgetown. The Hoyas (21-4, 11-3 Big East) came in having lost two of three games and they struggled against Providence’s 2-3 zone for the opening half and first 5 minutes of the second half. Then came a 3-point barrage led by Wallace as Georgetown hit five from behind the arc in a 17-2 run that gave the Hoyas a 52-43 lead. Weyinmi Efejuku had 25 points for the Friars (13-13, 4-10), who have lost four straight and eight of nine. Providence came into the game tied for 13th in the Big East and only the top 12 teams advance to next month’s conference tournament.

No. 10 Xavier 81, Rhode Island 77

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I, — Josh Duncan scored 23 points, B.J. Raymond added 14 and Xavier overcame a furious second-half run to hold off Rhode Island. The win was Xavier’s eighth straight and the 14th in its last 15 games, helping the Musketeers maintain their grip on first place in the Atlantic 10 conference. Rhode Island opened the second-half on a 26-14 run after trailing by 10 at halftime. The Musketeers (22-4, 10-1 A-10) fell behind by 3 at one point in the second half, before taking the lead for good on a long-range jumper by Stanley Burrell with 5:47 left to play. A 3-pointer by Will Daniels with four seconds left put Rhode Island within 3, but Drew Lavender hit one of two free throws with 1.7 seconds on the clock to put the game out of reach. Parfait Bitee scored 25 points and Will Daniels added 23 for Rhode Island (20-6, 6-5). The loss snapped the Rams’ 11-game home winning streak.

No. 18 Louisville 61, Syracuse 50

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Terrence Williams scored all 12 of his points in the second half and Louisville held off Syracuse. Andre McGee added 12 points and Louisville (21-6, 11-3 Big East) limited the Orange (17-10, 7-7) to 29 percent shooting to keep pace with Georgetown atop the Big East. Arinze Onuaku led Syracuse with 16 points and Paul Harris added 13, but the Orange found few openings in Louisville’s tough 2-3 defense. Syracuse entered the game tied with Georgetown in field goal percentage, making 49 percent of its shots from the field. The Orange managed barely half that against Louisville.

Associated Press