Hoyas hold off Demons 68-63

WASHINGTON—D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 19 points and Georgetown held off DePaul from the free throw line for a 68-63 victory Saturday night.The victory keeps the Hoyas (18-8) in second place in the Big East at 10-5, a half-game ahead of Providence, which plays conference leader Villanova Tuesday. No. 19 Butler fell out of a second-place tie after falling to Xavier, 73-56 Saturday.Smith-Rivera knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 19-19 with 7:43 left in the first half and Jabril Trawick followed with a 3-pointer to give the Hoyas the lead for good, 22-19.Billy Garrett Jr. hit a pair of free throws with :27 left to cut the Georgetown lead to two, 64-62, but could get no closer.Joshua Smith had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Georgetown.Forrest Robinson had 17 points and Jamee Crockett added 13 to lead DePaul (12-16, 6-9).