Georgetown 61, DePaul 54: Markel Starks scored a game-high 21 points to lead the host Hoyas over the Blue Demons in the Big East opener for both teams.

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds for Georgetown (9-3, 1-0), which improved to 8-1 in its last nine games. Jabril Trawick and Aaron Bowen pitched in with eight points apiece for the Hoyas.

Billy Garrett Jr. poured in 17 points for DePaul (8-6, 0-1), which shot just 32.7 percent. Brandon Young contributed 13 points and five rebounds for the Blue Demons, who have lost two of their last three.

Georgetown closed out the first half on a 14-2 run in the final three minutes, capped by a turnaround 3-pointer from Bowen at the buzzer to build a 29-25 lead at halftime. Starks totaled 11 points by the midway point to lead the Hoyas, while Garrett Jr. posted eight at the break to lead all shooters for DePaul.

After Smith-Rivera's layup pushed Georgetown's lead to nine early in the second half, the Blue Demons used a 7-0 run to pull within 40-38 with 12:59 to play. DePaul fell behind by as many as 12 down the stretch but would creep back to within six on a jumper from Garrett with 19 seconds left before the Hoyas ran out the clock.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Georgetown improved to 21-7 all-time against DePaul, winning its 13th consecutive game in the series and its eighth straight at home. ... Blue Demons F Cleveland Melvin, who entered Tuesday averaging a team-high 16.1 points, was held to just six points on 2-of-12 shooting. ... Starks knocked down all eight of his free-throw attempts while his teammates struggled, shooting just 7-of-19 from the line.