OMAHA, Neb. – The Georgetown University men's basketball team dropped an 82-69 decision to the Creighton University Bluejays on Saturday afternoon at the CHI Health Center Omaha on Saturday afternoon. With the setback, the Hoyas slip to 16-11 on the season with a 6-8 mark in BIG EAST Conference action.
 
Jahvon Blair (Brampton, Ontario / Athlete Institute Prep) led the Hoyas with 16 points off the bench, including a trio of 3-pointers, all in the second half. Greg Malinowski (Chantilly, Va. / Episcopal / William & Mary) rounded out those in double figures with 12 points on a 4-of-9 effort from downtown. Josh LeBlanc (Baton Rouge, La. / Madison Prep Academy) led the Hoyas off the glass as he grabbed seven rebounds in the effort. James Akinjo's (Oakland, Calif. / Salesian College Preparatory) eight assists paced the offense. The Hoyas shot 43.3 percent (26 of 60) for the game and the GU bench outperformed Creighton 40-18.
 
Despite the Bluejays scoring a quick eight prompting the GU timeout, LeBlanc was able to get the Hoyas in the scoring column with a tipin. Five-straight points from Mac McClung (Gate City, Va. / Gate City) cut the gap to one, 8-7. Creighton managed the retort to make it a two-possession game but both teams struggled to hold on to the ball providing a scoring drought for both squads for more than two minutes of action.
 
CU extended its lead to six before the Hoyas put together a quick five on a 3-pointer from followed by a quick steal and Akinjo layup from a Malinowski dish. The game continued to go back and forth but Trey Mourning (Miami, Fla. / Rnasom Everglades) came off the bench to score a pair of buckets and block a Bluejay attempt before Creighton found the bottom of the net once again for the 21-16 advantage. In transition, Jessie Govan (Queens Village, N.Y. / Wings Academy) tallied a 3-pointer to pull GU within two and Malinowski drained the long ball from the right side to take the 22-21 lead, its first of the game forcing the CU timeout.
 
Out of the huddle, the Bluejays came back firing as they staged a 10-0 run to force the Hoyas to call a timeout. LeBlanc managed the dunk coming out of the break to close the run but CU tallied four unanswered before back-to-back buckets from LeBlanc and Kaleb Johnson (South Hill, Va. / The Carlisle School) cut the gap to seven, 35-28. A game of runs, Creighton managed another five straight for the 12-point lead, prompting another GU timeout with 1:41 remaining in the frame.
 
In the final two minutes of action in the frame, the Blue & Gray closed with six straight with Govan dropping in a pair of layups, rolling in his second of the duo, and Akinjo knocking down his jump shot, providing the 40-34 score at the break.
 
The second half started much like the first with the Bluejays going on a 13-1 run to start before Malinowski tallied the first bucket of the frame with a triple to cut the deficit to 15. The Hoyas started to slowly battle back with help from its bench as Mourning and Blair combined for the next eight GU points to close within 10, trailing 56-46. CU pulled ahead again but back-to-back jumpers from Blair and Govan made it a single-digit affair with 9:56 remaining in the frame.
 
However, every time the Blue & Gray chipped away at the lead, Creighton was able to find the answer, holding a comfortable double-digit lead for the remainder of the game. Georgetown looked to the long ball and its bench as Malinowski and Blair each added a 3-pointer, both on Akinjo dishes, to pull the Hoyas within 11, 74-63, but the Bluejays continued to push the game out of reach. Another Blair 3-pointer made it a 10-point game but that was as close as the Hoyas would get down the stretch, dropping the 82-69 decision.
 
Creighton's Martin Krampelj led the squad with 22 points. The Bluejays (15-13, 6-9 BIG EAST) shot 51.8 percent (29 of 56) from the field.
 
Georgetown returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 27 as the Hoyas return to the Nation's Capital for its final homestand of the season. The Hoyas welcome the DePaul Blue Demons to the District, the first matchup of the season between the two squads. Tipoff at Capital One Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen live on CBS Sports Network. Fans can listen locally on WOL 1450 AM and nationally on SiriusXM with Rich Chvotkin calling the action.
 
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