Butler leads WVU over Hoyas

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/01/2010 - Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Da'Sean Butler filled the stat sheet in his final game at WVU Coliseum, totaling 22 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead No. 10 West Virginia to an 81-68 victory over the struggling 19th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas.

The Mountaineers (23-6, 12-5 Big East) clinched a double-bye in the Big East Tournament with the win and currently sit in third place in the conference standings, a half-game ahead of Pittsburgh and a half-game behind the Villanova Wildcats, who they visit in the regular season finale on Saturday.

Devin Ebanks and Kevin Jones scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, for West Virginia, which received 11 points from Darryl Bryant in its fourth win in five games.

The Hoyas (19-9, 9-8), ranked eighth in the country just three weeks ago, have lost four of their last five, dropping them to seventh in the conference.

Austin Freeman, Georgetown's leading scorer at 17.0 ppg, did not dress because of a stomach virus, the same illness that forced him to play limited minutes in a 14-point home loss to Notre Dame on Saturday.

Greg Monroe and Chris Wright tallied 22 and 21 points, respectively, for the Hoyas, who committed 20 turnovers in the setback.

West Virginia expanded its three-point lead midway through the first half with a 13-3 run. Butler had six points on the spurt, which was capped by Bryant's finger-roll for a 27-14 advantage with seven minutes left.

The margin reached 41-21 on a Casey Mitchell three-pointer with two minutes remaining in the stanza.

Georgetown turned the ball over 12 times in the opening 20 minutes, leading to 14 points the other way en route to a 43-26 differential at the break.

The Hoyas failed to make any adjustments in the locker room, as they had four giveaways in the first three minutes of the second half. Jones fueled the subsequent 10-0 WVU flurry, with his jumper yielding a healthy 53-26 cushion.

A nine-point run for Georgetown a little later kept the Mountaineers on their toes, but the hosts still led comfortably until the final five minutes.

A Jason Clark bucket finished an 8-0 Georgetown spurt to get as close as 62-53, but Butler followed with two free throws and a contested layup to push the margin back to double-digits with 3 1/2 minutes to play.

The hosts led by at least 10 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Mountaineers finished 12-2 at WVU Coliseum this season, while the Hoyas went 6-5 in true road games...The Hoyas end their regular season at home against Cincinnati on Saturday...Monroe also had nine rebounds for the Hoyas, while Wright handed out seven assists and grabbed six caroms...West Virginia committed nine turnovers.

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Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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