WASHINGTON – In a game that came down to the final minute, the Georgetown University men's basketball team fell just short to the visiting Marquette University Golden Eagles 74-71 on Tuesday night. With the loss, the Hoyas slip to 12-6 on the year with a 2-3 mark in BIG EAST Conference play.
 
Mac McClung (Gate City, Va. / Gate City) led the Hoyas with 24 points on a 7-of-11 effort from the floor including four 3-pointers. Jessie Govan (Queens Village, N.Y. / Wings Academy) tallied 14 points while Kaleb Johnson (South Hill, Va. / The Carlisle School) chipped in 12 points to round out those in double figures. Govan's nine rebounds led the squad while James Akinjo (Oakland, Calif. / Salesian College Preparatory) recorded a game-best eight assists. Georgetown shot 42.3 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Golden Eagles 33-30.
 
McClung tallied GU's first two buckets of the game, taking a 6-5 lead over the visiting Golden Eagles (15-3, 4-1 BIG EAST). Marquette managed six unanswered to take the 11-6 advantage before McClung and Akinjo scored the next two baskets to pull within one. The Hoyas pulled ahead 13-11 on a trio of free throws.
 
A Trey Mourning (Miami, Fla. / Ransom Everglades) dunk on an Akinjo helper pushed the lead to 15-11. The Golden Eagles strung together six straight and regained the lead before Josh LeBlanc (Baton Rouge, La. / Madison Prep Academy) tallied the first 3-pointer of his GU career to push the Blue & Gray ahead 18-17. Govan drained a 3-pointer from the right side for the 21-19 advantage but MU struck from downtown twice for the four-point lead 25-21.
 
A McClung jumper pulled Georgetown within two but Marquette found the bottom of the net twice more to lead by six once again. A pair of layups, one each from McClung and Johnson, kept the Hoyas within striking distance, but Marquette pulled away once again 33-27.
 
It was Johnson who dug the Blue & Gray out of the hole, finding an opening on the left side to drain his 3-pointer and moments later, driving the basket, drawing the foul and capping the conventional three-point play to tally six straight and even the score at 33. Akinjo sunk a pair of free throws for the Hoyas to regain the lead 35-33. Marquette had the equalizer but Jahvon Blair (Brampton, Ontario / Athlete Institute Prep) nailed a triple for the 38-35 advantage. MU made it a one-point game with less than a minute on the clock but Johnson again came up big with a layup to give Georgetown the 40-37 lead going into halftime.
 
Coming out of the break, the Hoyas did not take the foot off pedal as LeBlanc managed the layup to make it a two-possession affair. The teams would trade 3-pointers but McClung drew the foul on a 3-pointer and hit all three of his free throws to give Georgetown some breathing room, 48-40. A frame played from beyond the arc, both teams knocked down triples again as the Blue & Gray took the 51-43 lead. However, MU would not go away and staged a 12-0 run to take the 55-51 lead and force a GU timeout.
 
In the midst of a cold spell on the floor, Georgetown was able to end Marquette's run at 14 as Govan drew the foul and sunk a pair of free throws to close the gap to four, 57-53. The Golden Eagles tallied a triple but McClung had the retort back on offense. Greg Malinowski's (Chantilly, Va. / Episcopal / William & Mary) free throw made it a one-possession game. After a defensive stop the Hoyas moved the ball quickly around the arc as Akinjo got it to Govan who hit the 3-pointer to tie the game at 60.
 
Marquette's bucket pushed the visitors ahead but Govan's floater knotted the game up at 62. Both teams traded points but MU controlled the lead, going up by as many as four, 70-66, with 4:23 left in regulation. A fast break dunk from Jamorko Pickett (Washington, D.C. / Massanutten Military Academy) brought the crowd to its highest decibels as the Hoyas made it a two-point game. On the next possession Akinjo went for his layup, drew the foul and made both free throws to tie the game once again.
 
The Golden Eagles took a72-70 lead with just over a minute to play. McClung was able to cut the deficit to one with a free throw but as the game ended at the charity stripe, Marquette held on for the 74-71 win.
 
Marquette's Sam Hauser led the Golden Eagles with 31 points. Marquette shot 47.4 percent (27 of 57) from the field. 
 
The Hoyas return to action on Monday, Jan. 21 as they welcome the Creighton Bluejays to the Nation's Capital. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Capital One Arena and the game will be shown live on FS1. The game can be heard locally The Team 980 with Rich Chvotkin calling the game.
 
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For tickets, please visit WeAreGeorgetown.com or contact the Georgetown Athletic Ticket Office at 202.687.HOYA (4692) or hoyatickets@georgetown.edu.