Butler fights back late, falters in final minutes in 73-66 home loss to Georgetown

INDIANAPOLIS  — Terrell Allen tied a career high with 22 points, including key baskets on back-to-back possessions late, and short-handed Georgetown endured on the road without its top two scorers to knock off No. 19 Butler 73-66 on Saturday.

The Hoyas (15-10, 5-7 Big East) were missing injured starters Mac McClung and Omer Yurtseven, but Allen hit the game’s first shot and stayed hot to keep the visitors ahead for much of the game. He hit 9 of 14 field-goal attempts, including all four 3-point attempts, as Georgetown improved to 6-1 lifetime at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Butler (19-7, 7-6) struggled without injured point guard Aaron Thompson but gradually erased an early nine-point deficit and pulled to within 61-60 with 3:46 remaining.

That’s when Allen stepped up again with a pull-up jumper in the paint, then his final 3-pointer, from the left wing, gave Georgetown a 66-60 lead with 1:28 remaining.

Kamar Baldwin and Jordan Tucker led Butler with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Georgetown’s Jahvon Blair added 16.

McClung, who averages a team-best 16.4 points, missed his third consecutive game with a foot injury. But Allen scored seven points, including a 3-pointer, for an 11-2 lead that forced the Bulldogs to call an early timeout.

Butler slowly crept back on the strength of seven 3-pointers in the first half. Tucker’s fourth 3, just before the buzzer, trimmed the Georgetown advantage to 32-31 at halftime.

Butler took its first lead at 33-32 when Bryce Gordon hit a pair of free throws 31 seconds into the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Georgetown: Six league games and the conference tournament isn’t much time for the Hoyas to prove themselves worthy of NCAA Tournament consideration, but an inspiring effort suggests there’s still a chance. This team still might need to win the conference tournament to secure an NCAA bid.

Butler: Hopes to rise to a possible No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament took a serious hit with a bad home loss. Three of the final five regular-season games are on the road, too. The Bulldogs might fall to a No. 5 or No. 6 seed with a sputtering late-season finish.

UP NEXT

Georgetown: Hosts Providence on Wednesday.

Butler: At Seton Hall on Wednesday.