Georgetown, UConn advance in Big East

NEW YORK, March 7 (UPI) -- Henry Sims and Otto Porter each scored 20 points Wednesday in leading 14th-ranked Georgetown to a 64-52 Big East Tournament win over Pittsburgh.

The win advanced the Hoyas (23-7) into the tournament quarterfinals against the fourth-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats. Pittsburgh fell to 17-16 on the season.

Pittsburgh led through the early stages of the game and was ahead 21-15 with 6:40 to go in the first half before Georgetown closed the period with a 16-2 run.

Porter started the run for a free throw and Sims capped it with a layup with 1:17 to go. Greg Whittington had a 3-point shot and a 3-point play in the spurt in which six Hoyas got on the board.

Sims, who also had 13 rebounds, and Porter combined for 14-of-21 shooting and Whittington wound up with 11 points for Georgetown. Ashton Gibbs had a team-high 14 points for Pittsburgh.

Earlier Wednesday, Connecticut, the defending Big East and NCAA tournaments champion, rallied from 11 points down in the second half or a 71-67 win in overtime over West Virginia (19-12). The Huskies (19-12) take on No. 2-ranked Syracuse in Thursday's quarterfinals.

Shabazz Napier paced Connecticut with 26 points while Jeremy Lamb added 22. Kevin Jones led West Virginia with 25 points and Daryl Bryant had 20.

It was the final Big East Tournament appearance for West Virginia, which joins the Big 12 next season.

Wednesday's late second-round games had Louisville playing Seton Hall and South Florida taking on Villanova.