WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Guard Trevon Bluiett, who entered the game averaging 19.2 points per contest, missed all 10 shots from the field and finished with just one point.

Sophomore guard Edmond Sumner left a tense game when he bumped his knee with less than seven minutes left after his team shot just 37 percent in the first half.

Despite those obstacles, No. 17 Xavier found a way to survive here Saturday afternoon, coming back from a second-half deficit to beat Georgetown 81-76 in the second Big East Conference contest of the season for both teams.

"It tells me we were resilient this morning, a trait that is needed in this league," said Musketeers head coach Chris Mack.

Sumner, playing on his birthday, had a career-high 28 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists while junior guard J.P. Macura added 23 points and six boards for Xavier (12-2, 2-0 Big East).

The Hoyas (8-6, 0-2) were paced by guard L.J. Peak, who had 16 of his 21 points in the first half, while graduate senior Rodney Pryor had 20 points and forward Marcus Derrickson, making his first start of the season, had 12 points.

"In the second half they closed the paint up," Peak said.

The game began at 11 a.m. ET and drew an announced crowd of 11,275.

"It is a wild start time. I thought our team was ready to go," Mack said. "What a great Big East game, back and forth. I could not ask for better defense (down the stretch). We played more zone than we are accustomed to. We hung with it."

And the visitors won despite Bluiett missing all six three-point shots.

"He is not going to have too many nights like that," Georgetown head coach John Thompson III said of Bluiett.

Xavier had 14 offensive rebounds but made 29 of 38 shots from the foul line. Georgetown had 20 assists on 28 field goals but was 14 of 23 from the charity stripe.

"We know Trevon is our leading scorer," Sumner said. "He was struggling tonight. We have a well-rounded team. Me and J.P. had to step up. You can lose to anyone in the Big East. Everyone is good."

"We have a lot of players who can do a lot of things," Macura said. "Other players will step up. Coach really talked to us about being tougher than Georgetown and I felt we were today."

Macura gave the visitors the lead for good at 62-59 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 8:20 to go. The Musketeers made it 67-62 on a layup by forward RaShid Gaston (nine rebounds) with 5:10 left. Guard Malcolm Bernard (nine points) made it 70-64 with 4:40 left on a 3-pointer from the left wing.

Macura made two free throws with 3:53 left to build the margin to 72-64. A dunk by Gaston with 1:20 remaining gave Xavier a lead of 76-72.

A Sumner free throw made it 77-74 with 36.3 seconds left before Pryor missed a 3-pointer with about 20 seconds left. Sumner sealed the win with two free throws with 18.5 seconds left to make it 79-74.

"They are a good team. When you make mistakes they capitalize," Thompson said. "I think Xavier really executed and got the looks they needed down the stretch."

Peak, limited to 22 minutes Wednesday at Marquette due to a groin injury, started Saturday and kept the Hoyas within range. Peak had four points against Marquette and entered Saturday with an average of 15.9 points per game.

Georgetown took a 49-44 lead early in the second half but Xavier tied the game at 49 on a basket by reserve Kaiser Gates.

Hoyas center Bradley Hayes gave his team a 59-57 lead with 9:50 left but Xavier remained poised and got contributions from its starters down the stretch.

The Musketeers built the margin to 30-24 with 5:10 left in the first half on two free throws by reserve Sean O'Mara. But Georgetown answered again and led 38-36 at intermission after a basket by Pryor in the closing seconds of the first half.

"We wanted to play fast," Mack said. "Edmond plays well in this building. He is so quick. He found a couple of open players. I thought it was one of his best games of the year. Georgetown had 17 layup opportunities in the first half we counted as a staff, which is way too many."

Xavier took care of that in the second half, focusing on Peak when he got the ball.

NOTES: Xavier returns to action at home Jan. 7 against St. John's while Georgetown plays Wednesday at Providence. ... Hoyas sophomore F Marcus Derrickson made his first start of the year and had seven points in the first half and 12 overall. ... Two of the Xavier assistant coaches have ties to the mid-Atlantic region. Mike Pegues is a native of Washington, D.C., and a product of DeMatha Catholic High in nearby Hyattsville, Md., and the University of Delaware. Luke Murray, the son of actor/comedian Bill Murray, is a former assistant at Towson near Baltimore, which like Delaware is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. ... Xavier continues to be without senior G Myles Davis, who has missed the first 14 games after he was suspended in September after he was charged in August with misdemeanor criminal damage.