Jahvon Blair scored 23 points and Donald Carey added 13 to lift Georgetown to a 70-62 victory over Maryland-Baltimore Country in the season opener on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Qudus Wahab collected 12 points and 12 rebounds and freshman Kobe Clark had 10 boards for the Hoyas, who got off on the right foot after being predicted to finish 11th in the Big East preseason poll. Georgetown limped to a 15-17 record (5-13 in conference play) in 2019-20.

The Hoyas improved to 4-0 all-time against UMBC, including a win in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament as well as an 81-55 victory last season.

Brandon Horvath and 5-foot-2 Darnell Rogers scored 13 points each and R.J. Eytle-Rock added 11 for the Retrievers, who are expected to finish in second place this season, according to the American East preseason poll. They posted a 16-17 record in 2019-20, which was good enough to end up in fifth place.

Carey drained a short jumper in the paint and followed up a 3-pointer in transition to cap a 15-5 run by Georgetown. The sizable spurt gave the Hoyas a 22-15 lead with 7:31 remaining in the first half.

Georgetown kept the pressure and boosted its lead to as many as 11 points before UMBC answered with a 7-2 run to trim its deficit to 36-30 at intermission. Georgetown's Malcolm Wilson had an emphatic dunk just before the buzzer.

Georgetown continued to work the interior to build a 43-33 lead, with Wahab answering an emphatic dunk in transition with a second-chance layup.

Pickett's 3-pointer put UMBC on its heels before Blair converted a left-handed layup in transition to highlight a 16-2 run. The Hoyas, who led 52-35 at that point, held off a late 11-2 run by UMBC to preserve the win.

UMBC's L.J. Owens appeared to roll his ankle early in the second half while driving to the basket. Owens, who was pounding the floor in pain, was able to return six minutes later.

--Field Level Media