Hoyas handle hobbled Titans to advance

Freshman Jeff Green dominated the paint with 18 points and six blocks, and Georgetown took advantage of an unusual home-court advantage to beat short-handed Cal State Fullerton 74-57 Tuesday night at Washington and advance to the quarterfinals of the NIT.

Green scored eight of Georgetown’s first 13 points and essentially had his way against the Titans’ undersized frontcourt, making 8 of 11 shots in 23 minutes before fouling out with 4:57 to play. Brandon Bowman made 8 of 10 shots and scored 21 points for the Hoyas (19-12), who shot 55 percent.

Preparations for a circus made unavailable the Hoyas’ usual home, the cavernous MCI Center, so Georgetown hosted the game on campus in its small McDonough Gymnasium. A standing-room only crowd of 2,604 packed the gym, and their chants and roars tested the limits of decibel tolerance in a way never heard at MCI.

Bobby Brown scored 16 points, and Jamaal Brown had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead Cal State Fullerton (21-11), which dressed only eight players and listed five players out for the season with injuries. Ralphy Holmes, the Big West’s leading scorer and rebounder, became the most recent casualty when he injured his knee in Friday’s win at San Francisco.

The Titans finished with their first winning season in 12 years and had to play all three of their NIT games on the road, visiting seven airports over eight days. The game was on ESPN, making it Cal State Fullerton’s first nationally televised game in 15 years.

South Carolina 77, UNLV 66: At Columbia, S.C., Carlos Powell scored 15 points and Brandon Wallace added a career-best 13 to lead South Carolina to a victory over UNLV in the second round of the NIT.

The Gamecocks (17-13) went on a 12-2 run in the middle of the first half to pull away, and the Rebels (17-14) never recovered. Romel Beck led UNLV with 21 points.

The Gamecocks will host Georgetown in the quarterfinals.