WASHINGTON – Up four in overtime, Georgetown worked the ball around the court and found an open Mac McClung (Gate City, Va. / Gate City) who drained his fourth 3-pointer of the afternoon, drew the foul and converted the elusive four-point play for the 98-90 advantage over Little Rock. Both teams traded free throws as the Hoyas went on to defeat the visiting Trojans 102-94 at Capital One Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Hoyas improve to 9-3 on the season and the Trojans slip to 5-8 on the year.
 
"They're playing extremely well and growing every day," Head Coach Patrick Ewing said of McClung and James Akinjo (Oakland, Calif. / Salesian College Preparatory). "They still have a lot more to learn but they're doing a very good job. Mac was hot, they were both hot and they both made shots and made plays when we needed them today."
 
The freshman duo of McClung and Akinjo combined for 63 points with McClung pouring in 38 and Akinjo tallying 25, both career bests. McClung drained four 3-pointers and added 14 points from the charity stripe while Akinjo tallied a trio of triples. Seniors Jessie Govan (Queens Village, N.Y. / Wings Academy) and Kaleb Johnson (South Hill, Va. / The Carlisle School) chipped in 12 apiece to round out those in double figures. Freshman Josh LeBlanc (Baton Rouge, La. / Madison College Preparatory) and Johnson each pulled down nine rebounds to lead the squad. Akinjo paced the offense with seven assists. Georgetown shot 40.5 percent (30 of 74) from the field and outrebounded the Trojans 43-40. The GU bench outscored Little Rock 23-17.
 
The Hoyas trailed early but back-to-back 3-pointers from McClung knotted the game at 11 apiece. Little Rock broke up the Hoya scoring with a jumper of its own but Akinjo had the retort to again tie the game. The Blue & Gray slipped behind again but it was the combination of an Akinjo bucket and Govan's traditional three-point play that put the Hoyas right back in the mix, trailing 20-18.
 
Both teams traded buckets but a McClung dunk swung the lead to the Hoyas 25-24. Little Rock answered on the other end, however, on the ensuing possession, McClung dished to Akinjo who drained a 3-pointer to take the 28-26 lead. The Trojans continued to find the equalizer until McClung hit his third triple of the game to give the Hoyas a 33-30 edge. As the Hoyas got hot from downtown, Akinjo knocked down another triple for the 36-32 lead.
 
Little Rock closed the gap to one before the Hoyas staged a 7-1 run featuring a Greg Malinowski (Chantilly, Va. / Episcopal / William & Mary) triple to open up a 43-36 advantage. However, the Trojans tallied 14 unanswered to take the 50-43 lead. McClung sunk a pair of free throws to break up the run and pull within five, 50-45. Trailing by seven, the Blue & Gray closed the frame on six-consecutive points, including a Jahvon Blair (Brampton, Ont. / Athlete Institute Prep) triple followed by a trio of free throws, to go into the break trailing 52-51.
 
The Blue & Gray continued to push in the second half but the Trojans were able to maintain the lead through the early minutes, leading by as many as four points. A layup from Johnson pulled GU within one but the Trojans had the answer to pull ahead 61-58. McClung then drove the lane, made his layup and drew the foul to bring the crowd to its highest decibels of the afternoon. The freshman converted the conventional three-point play to knot the game at 61.
 
The game remained close as it was tied up three more times before Akinjo and Govan combined for six-straight points to take a 74-68 advantage. On the defensive end, the Hoyas were forcing turnovers and holding the Trojans scoreless for more than two minutes of action. Little Rock ended the scoring drought with five-straight points to pull within two, 76-74, but a pair of free throws from Johnson gave the Hoyas a little bit of breathing room. As Johnson added another free throw, the Hoyas moved ahead 79-74. Both teams traded free throws through the waning minutes of regulation but a Little Rock 3-pointer at the buzzer sent the game to overtime tied at 84.
 
Akinjo started the scoring in the extra frame for the Hoyas, tying the game at 86 before McClung sunk his free throws to take the two-point advantage. Trips to the line for Little Rock resulted in the Trojans regaining the lead 89-88. McClung created space on the left side and floated in is jumper before Akinjo drained a pair of free throws, providing the 92-89 edge. The final frame relied on the charity stripe as GU went up 94-90 from the line, setting up McClung's final 3-pointer.
 
Little Rock's Nikola Marci led the Trojans with 27 points. Little Rock shot 50.0 percent from the field on 28-of-56 shooting.  
 
The Hoyas return to action on Saturday, Dec. 29 as they welcome the Howard University Bison to Capital One Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for noon and the game will be shown live on FS1. The game can be heard locally on The Team 980 with Rich Chvotkin in his 45th season calling the game.
 
Notes – The last time Georgetown reached 100 points in a game was Nov. 15, 2017 in a 102-68 win over Mount St. Mary's.