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WASHINGTON -

Arkansas State opened up an early lead and the Georgetown University men's basketball team could not overcome it en route to a 78-72 loss at McDonough Arena on Thursday night.

It was the second-straight loss for the Hoyas, who fall to 1-2 overall, while Arkansas State improves to 2-1.

Sophomore center Jessie Govan (Queens Village, N.Y./Wings Academy) scored a season-high 20 points and had eight rebounds to lead the Hoyas, while junior guard L.J. Peak (Gaffney, S.C./Gaffney) scored 18 points and junior forward Isaac Copeland (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft/Brewster Academy [N.H.]) added 11 points.

Georgetown trailed by 19 points at the break, 48-29, as the Red Wolves connected on 65.4 percent of their shots from the floor, including 5-of-7 from 3-point land.

The Hoyas used a quick opening 6-0 burst in the second half to trim the lead to 48-35 after a pair of free throws from Peak with 17:45 to play, but the Red Wolves pushed the lead back to 18 points, 53-35, on a layup from Devin Carter, who scored a game-high 23 points.

The Blue & Gray would get back to within 13 points four times, the last on a conventional three-point play from sophomore forward Kaleb Johnson (South Hill, Va./Carlisle), but were not able to break any closer.

Trailing 71-55 with 7:13 to play, the Hoyas used a 10-2 run and were able to get within single digits on a jumper from graduate transfer Rodney Pryor (Evanston, Ill./Notre Dame Prep/Robert Morris) with 4:26 to play in the game.

A layup from freshman guard Jagan Mosely (Marlboro, N.J./St. Anthony) cut the lead to 74-67 and a 3-pointer from Pryor got Georgetown within four, 74-70, with 1:33 to play. A pair of Peak free throws with just under a minute to play made it 74-72, but C.J. Foster hit one free throw and Deven Simms added two more with 15 seconds left to seal the win.

Arkansas State scored the first five points of the game before the Hoyas pulled to within 8-6 on a dunk from Pryor, but an 8-2 run from the Red Wolves, capped by a 3-pointer from Connor Kern, pushed the lead to 16-8.

The Arkansas State lead grew to 10 points, 20-10, on a layup from Simms and was part of an 11-0 run as the Hoyas trailed 27-10 after a layup from Devin Carter with 7:52 left in the half. Paced by 18 first half points from Govan, Georgetown trailed by 19 points, 48-29, at the break.

Georgetown is back in action Monday, Nov. 21, playing in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational against Oregon. The game is slated to tip off at 4:30 p.m. (ET) and will be shown live on ESPN2.