NEW YORK – The Georgetown University men's basketball team outscored No. 22 Texas 45-24 in the second half, en route to an 82-66 victory over the Longhorns at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. The game was the first semifinal of the 2K Empire Classic. With the win, Georgetown improves to 4-1 on the season and deals the Longhorns their first loss to slip to 4-1.
 
ON THE RECORD
"I knew I could score like this, have an offensive game like this every game, but today I took it personally and I knew I just had to start off the game strong, come with a lot of fire in order for us to win." - Jamorko Pickett on his 15-point performance
 
"It felt like it was back in the Knicks days. I just wanted my team to know that we have a lot of supporters here. There's a lot of Georgetown alumni her and also at the game. I wanted them to stand up and be heard." - Head Coach Patrick Ewing on pumping up the crowd late in the game.
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Mac McClung led four Hoyas in double figures with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting and a 2-of-3 effort from beyond the arc. .
• Jamorko Pickett finished with 15 points, hitting 6-of-10 from the floor, and five rebounds
• James Akinjo scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, including a perfect 10-of-10 performance from the free throw line. He also paced the Blue & Gray with six assists.
• Omer Yurtseven rounded out those in double figures with 10 points in just 12 minutes of action.
• Qudus Wahab and Josh LeBlanc each had nine points off the bench.
• Jagan Mosely led Georgetown on the glass with seven rebounds.
• The Hoyas shot 50.9 percent (28-55) for the game and held Texas to just 37.7 percent (23-61), including a 22.2 percent (6-27) clip in the second half.
• The GU defense had six blocks and six steals, forcing 12 Texas turnovers, and the Hoyas held a 34-28 rebounding advantage.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The defense was suffocating to start, forcing three turnovers and blocking two shots early as the Hoyas opened an 8-5 lead.
• Despite eight unanswered from the Longhorns, a McClung 3-pointer followed by a LeBlanc bucket pulled the Hoyas right back in as the score was knotted at 13. Georgetown took the lead behind a pair of free throws from Wahab.
• Both teams traded buckets throughout the first but another Texas triple tied the game once again (21-21).
• Trailing six (33-27), a Pickett triple made it a one-possession game and free throws from Jagan Mosely cut the deficit to one.
• Texas went on another run but Wahab managed another layup to put the Blue & Gray within five (42-37) going into the break.
• The Hoyas came out firing in the second frame, with Omer Yurtseven tallying the first eight points and pulling the Hoyas within one (46-45) before a Pickett trey gave GU the two-point lead.
• Trailing 52-50, the Hoyas staged a 12-0 run with five different players scoring points to take a commanding 62-52 advantage with 9:49 to play.
• Akinjo put up eight straight from the charity stripe as he pushed the Blue & Gray ahead 76-63.
• Georgetown cruised to the 82-66 victory at the final whistle.

 
OF NOTE

• Thursday's win was Georgetown's third over a ranked opponent in three seasons under Head Coach Patrick Ewing. 

COMING UP NEXT
The Hoyas will play for the 2K Empire Classic Championship on Friday evening when they face the winner of No. 1 Duke and California. Tipoff at Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and fans can listen locally on WOL 1450 with Rich Chvotkin on the call.
 
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Men's basketball season tickets and mini-plans are currently on sale for the 2019-20 season. To purchase season tickets, visit WeAreGeorgetown.com/buyseasontickets; to purchase mini-plans, visit WeAreGeorgetown.com/miniplans. For more information and early notification when single game tickets and group tickets go on sale, please add your name to the Men's Basketball Ticket Interest List at WeAreGeorgetown.com/interestlist. Tickets for the 2K Empire Classic are currently available. For ticket information, please visit WeAreGeorgetown.com/EmpireClassic.