WASHINGTON -- It was a career-high scoring day for Xavier guard Edmond Sumner. And it was a very good day for the No. 8 Musketeers bench, which scored 32 points in an 88-70 victory on Saturday over host Georgetown in Big East Conference play.

"He was a roadrunner out there," Xavier coach Chris Mack said of Sumner, who had 22 points and made all nine free throws. "He is as fast as anyone in our league."

Sumner scored 13 points in the first half and had three assists, and reserve forward James Farr (14 points) and guard J.P. Macura (12) contributed off the bench as Xavier shot 77 percent from the field in the second half and began the second half with a 13-0 run.

"He was very hard to defend in the second half," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said of Sumner. "He is very fast, he is very, very fast. He is a good basketball player."

The victory avenged an 81-72 loss to Georgetown in January.

"The first game (against Georgetown) we didn't play tough," said Sumner, a freshman. "We didn't have high energy. We wanted to focus (Saturday) on playing great team basketball. We wanted to press a little more and speed them up. We knew we had to come out with better defense" in the second half.

Sumner was just two of 12 from the field with 10 points in the loss to Georgetown last month.

"The first game I just took a lot of bad shots," Sumner said. "I don't think I got my team involved enough. I wanted to open up the driving lanes. That was the difference" Saturday.

Guard Trevon Bluiett had 11 of his 13 points after halftime Saturday for Xavier while Farr made 4 of 6 shots from the field and added a team-high five rebounds while Macura was 5 of 7 from the field with four assists.

"Tre has supreme confidence," Mack said of Bluiett. "He is a potent scorer. He is a tough matchup; I am really proud of his development."

Second-place Xavier improved to 24-3, 12-3 in the Big East while the fading Hoyas fell to 14-14, 7-8.

Georgetown was paced by guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera with 18 points while forward Isaac Copeland had 13 and guard/forward L.J. Peak had 12 off the bench.

Georgetown was 10 of 37 from 3-point range and 15 of 24 from 2-point land.

"There were a few times when I felt I should have attacked the basket," Smith-Rivera said. "They just didn't go in today."

Xavier won despite making just 3 of 17 shots from long range.

"They executed. They are a very talented team," Thompson said of Xavier. "They play together."

Xavier is now 22-0 when leading at halftime. The Musketeers led 35-33 at the break Saturday, then began the second half with a 13-0 run to take a lead of 48-33 on a 3-pointer by guard Myles Davis.

The Hoyas pulled to within 48-39 on a 3-pointer by guard Tre Campbell. But Macura had two straight assists -- the last one a feed to Farr -- to give his team a 72-54 lead with 6:28 left and the visitors coasted to another win.

The Musketeers have now won eight of their last nine after they began the day 1 1/2 games behind first-place Villanova in the Big East.

The Hoyas led 12-8 early before Macura scored to give Xavier a 23-16 lead with 9:55 left in the first half. It was the seventh possession in a row that the visitors scored, and Xavier built the lead to 29-18 on a basket by guard Remy Abell with 5:50 left in the first half.

Xavier made just 1 of 11 shots from 3-point range in the first half but connected on all 12 free throws. The Musketeers made its first 15 free throws.

Mack noted his team had just seven turnovers and was 29 of 31 from the foul line.

"It is a recipe to win on the road. One of our most complete efforts," Mack said. "They played us as well anyone" last month in Ohio.

But on Saturday the Musketeers were just too good.

"It is a great team win," Macura said. "I am just trying to get my team involved and playing hard. We have to get better in practice Monday."

NOTES: Georgetown has lost five of its last seven. ... The Hoyas are off until they host Butler on Feb. 27 while Xavier hosts No. 1 Villanova on Wednesday. ... Xavier entered the game with three players scoring in double figures and six averaging at least 9.4 points per contest: G Trevon Bluiett (15.3), G Edmond Sumner (10.9), G Myles Davis (10.7), F James Farr (9.9), F Jake Reynolds (9.7) and G J.P. Macura (9.4). ... Xavier assistant coach Mike Pegues is a native of Washington, D.C., and starred at DeMatha Catholic High in Hyattsville, Md., before playing at the University of Delaware and overseas. ... Another Xavier assistant is Luke Murray, the son of Emmy-award winning actor and comedian Bill Murray.