Georgetown vs. Eastern Washington: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness

Eastern Washington put up a good fight for much of the first half and tried to rally late, but Georgetown showed toughness in holding on for an 84-74 win in Thursday's second-round NCAA tournament clash.

As exciting as the majority of the day's March Madness action was, this finale was rather lopsided.

Hoyas guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera poured in a team-high 25 points, but it was the depth and production from Georgetown's bench that gave Eastern Washington fits.

The five players who came off the Georgetown pine combined for 45 points, which Eagles forward Bogdan Bliznyuk helped offset only slightly with 11 points of his own.

Hoyas big man Joshua Smith was stuck in foul trouble, which would have presumably given the perimeter-oriented Eagles a great chance to compete.

This development didn't quite materialize. Eastern Washington fought back and cut its deficit to as few as seven points with under 30 seconds remaining, but couldn't draw any nearer.

The Eagles shot north of 40 percent from beyond the arc entering the game, and sank just nine of 28 three-point attempts, with a number of those makes coming too little, too late.

CBS Sports expert Seth Davis is usually on with his bracket picks, but he happened to be off in this instance—and had an overall tough day:

Indeed, the country's top scorer in Tyler Harvey showed flashes of brilliance, converting a magnificent four-point play late to give his side hope.

Harvey's fellow star teammate Venky Jois gave the Eagles grit and physicality on the inside. Jois and Harvey combined for 46 points, but most of their teammates didn't really rise to the occasion.

NBC News' Luke Russert implored the South's No. 4 seed to crush the competition before Thursday's tip—and Georgetown largely succeeded:

Paul Myberg of USA Today highlighted the lengthy sequence that saw the Hoyas assert their will after trailing by as many as seven in the first half:

The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre did justice in describing how the Eagles ultimately failed to respond to adversity:

SI College Hoops alluded to just how much of a drought the 13th-seeded underdogs went through:

Ranked 22nd in KenPom.com's defensive efficiency rankings, Georgetown showed its collective resolve on that end of the court. It was evident that the step up from the Eagles' usual Big Sky competition and the Big Dance became too much to handle.

The following pre-game testimony Eastern Washington coach Jim Hayford gave to Jim Rome thus rang hollow by evening's end:

Much of the suspense came with regard to the nine-point line Georgetown was favored by, as Bleacher Report's Stephen Nelson referenced:

Now the Hoyas move on to face fifth-seeded Utah in the South's third round. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted how similar both teams' second-round wins trended:

The Utes largely shut down a mid-major, explosive offense in their own right by advancing past Stephen F. Austin 57-50 on Thursday. Based on how well Georgetown defended Eastern Washington, those hoping for high-scoring action may want to shade their eyes from this upcoming contest.

What likely gives the Hoyas an edge moving forward is their depth and how productive their entire lineup was against the Eagles.

This is a big step forward for a Georgetown program that has rich history yet has disappointed in recent years. Whether it's enough to overcome a Utah squad with a chip on its own shoulder remains to be seen, but it should make for one of the more compelling, underrated third-round games.