WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sporting Alert, Box Scores) — Brannen Greene scored a career high 19 points and was red hot from behind the arc to lead No. 10 Kansas to a 75-70 victory over Georgetown at Verizon Center on Wednesday night.
Greene went 5 for 5 from three-point range and knocked down all four of his free throws coming off the bench in a big night on the road for the Jayhawks.
“Brannen Greene came in and he was unbelievable,” Kansas head coach Bill Self told Fox Sports 1.
“We’ve needed that badly from the start of the season. Just having somebody who can come off the bench or even start and just consistently knock it down.”
Frank Mason III scored 14 points and Perry Ellis finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks for Kansas (7-1), which won its six game in a row.
Joshua Smith finished with a game-high 20 points and grabbed five rebounds and three blocks to lead the way for Georgetown (5-3).
L.J. Peak added 18 points in the defeat for the home side.
The teams traded buckets in the first half before Kansas took a 34-32 lead heading into the interval.
“We played pretty well early and then we got into foul problems and finished the half miserable and they played much better in the first half,” Self said.
Georgetown took a 47-44 lead with 12:53 left in the second quarter after Peak made a layup and then knocked down a free throw to give the hosts a momentum lead.
However, Kansas came roaring back through back-to-back three-pointers from Greene as the Jayhawks rushed to a 51-47 advantage.
KU then used free throws to go on a 7-0 run to increase the lead to 58-47, but D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Hoyas had no intensions of going away.
Smith-Rivera made a layup to stop the run and then Georgetown went a 7-0 run of their own with Paul White knocking down a three-pointer to tie things up again at 58-58 with 8:10 remaining.
Cliff Alexander and Perry Ellis each made baskets for Kansas to take a four point lead, but Georgetown refused to go away.
Both teams continued to trade baskets until Kansas used another 7-0 free throw run down the stretch to seal the win.
Smith-Rivera finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, White ended wit 10 points, while Mikael Hopkins collected 10 rebounds, five blocks and four assists for Georgetown.
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