Georgetown 71, DePaul 59: Markel Starks scored 26 points and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera contributed 15 of his 17 points after intermission as the visiting Hoyas secured their 14th straight victory over the Blue Demons.
Jabril Trawick added 15 points off the bench for Georgetown (13-9, 4-6 Big East), which held DePaul to 32.1 percent shooting in the second half. Starks and Smith-Rivera shot a combined 22-of-25 at the foul line – overcoming a combined 9-of-29 effort from the floor – as the Hoyas went 30-of-41 from the stripe.
Brandon Young finished with 15 points and seven rebounds for DePaul (10-13, 2-8), which matched a season high by committing 30 fouls. Billy Garrett Jr. had 12 points and R.J. Curington chipped in with 10 while Tommy Hamilton IV hauled in 10 boards.
Georgetown opened the game by missing 12 of its first 13 field-goal attempts and shot only 30 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but used a 13-1 advantage in points off turnovers in the first half to battle back from a nine-point deficit. Starks’ 3-pointer near the end of the first half pushed the Hoyas within 30-27 at the break and Aaron Bowen’s trey gave Georgetown its first lead of the game at 35-32 with 14:43 left.
After DePaul knotted it at 37 about a minute and a half later, Trawick and Starks combined for the next seven points while Smith-Rivera scored seven straight over about a two-minute span as Georgetown began to pull away with a 21-7 run that opened up a 58-44 lead with 5:26 left. DePaul got as close as eight on a layup by Young three minutes later, but the Hoyas sank their final six free throws to seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Georgetown improved to 23-6 against DePaul and has not lost to the Blue Demons since 1994. … Garrett (illness) and Charles McKinney (ankle) returned from two-game absences for DePaul, but leading scorer Cleveland Melvin missed his third straight game due to suspension. … Smith-Rivera – the Hoyas’ top 3-point shooter – is 0-for-14 beyond the arc over his last three contests and has missed 15 consecutive long-range attempts.
Georgetown | DePaul | |
Markel Starks 26 | Scoring | Brandon Young 15 |
Nate Lubick 2 | Assists | Brandon Young 3 |
Nate Lubick 10 | Rebounds | Tommy Hamilton IV 10 |
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera 11 | Free Throws Made | Billy Garrett Jr. 7 |
Nate Lubick 3 | Steals | Brandon Young 2 |
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera 2 | Blocks | Sandi Marcius 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Georgetown | 71 | 36.0 | 5-17 | 30-41 | 7 | 36 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
DePaul | 59 | 37.3 | 4-17 | 17-26 | 6 | 34 | 6 | 4 | 13 |