WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's basketball team's 2018-19 season came to a close with a 71-68 loss to Harvard in front of a sellout crowd at McDonough Arena in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday. The Hoyas had a chance to tie the game with 14 seconds remaining but a 3-pointer was off the mark and the Blue & Gray couldn't get off another shot before time expired.
 
Jessie Govan (Queens Village, N.Y. / Wings Academy) led a trio of Hoyas with 25 points, 18 coming in the second half, including a quartet of 3-pointers all scored in the second stanza. James Akinjo (Oakland, Calif. / Salesian College Preparatory) added 15 points while Mac McClung (Gate City, Va. / Gate City) chipped in 10 to round out those in double figures. Josh LeBlanc (Baton Rouge, La. / Madison Prep Academy) led the Hoyas on the glass with seven rebounds. Akinjo and McClung each handed out four assists to lead the team.
 
Harvard got off to a quick start with sharp shooting, leading by as many as seven early but the inside play of GU's freshman class kept the Hoyas in a two-possession affair. Trailing 15-10, a McClung steal resulted in a fastbreak layup on the other end to pull the Hoyas within three and forcing a Harvard timeout. Back-to-back jumpers from Akinjo and Trey Mourning (Miami, Fla. / Ransom Everglades) knotted the game at 16 and GU took its first lead of the game on a bucket from Greg Malinowski (Chantilly, Va. / Episcopal / William & Mary), capping a 10-1 run.
 
The Crimson managed another triple to regain the lead and the game would go back and forth from that point, slowing down as both teams earned points from the charity stripe. An Akinjo layup pushed the lead back to the Hoyas. Jamorko Pickett (Washington, D.C. / Massanutten Military Academy [Va.]) turned his steal into an emphatic dunk on offense to push the Hoyas ahead 27-24.
 
Georgetown took its largest lead of the frame on an Akinjo 3-pointer that pushed the Blue & Gray to a 30-26 advantage but Harvard tallied four unanswered to even the game at 30. Harvard pulled ahead on free throws but Kaleb Johnson (South Hill, Va. / The Carlisle School) sunk a pair of his own and Akinjo nailed a jumper to provide a 36-35 lead for the Blue & Gray going into the break.
 
The Crimson opened the second frame on a 4-0 mini run but Govan had the retort as he sunk a trey to cut the gap to one. Despite Harvard's bucket, Govan again drained a triple, knotting the game at 42. A game from downtown, Harvard hit a 3-pointer of its own but Govan's hot hand couldn't be stopped as he matched the effort for his third-straight trey and brought the game to its seventh stalemate. McClung's quick moves around the court found an opening inside as his layup provided GU's first lead of the stanza and Govan extended it to 48-45 on a free throw.
 
However, a quick four from the Crimson swung the lead back to the visitors before GU's freshmen took over and sparked a 6-0 run on a series of buckets from McClung, Akinjo and LeBlanc. Harvard would not go away, staging an 8-0 run. Malinowski sunk a duo of free throws to end the scoring drought and make it a one-point game. As the tempo slowed late, Georgetown made up ground from the free throw line to trail 61-60 with just over four minutes remaining.
 
As the Hoyas were able to get a stop on defense, Pickett dished to an open LeBlanc for the jump shot to give the Hoyas a 62-61 lead and bring the raucous home crowd to its feet. Harvard managed a bucket to regain the lead but it was short-lived as Govan drove the lane, made his bucket and drew the foul. Completing the traditional three-point play, Georgetown took the 65-63 advantage with 3:03 remaining in regulation. Harvard closed the game on an 8-3 run to seal the victory.
 
Harvard's Bryce Aiken led the squad with 18 points. The Crimson shot 47.2 percent (25 of 53) from the field.
 
Georgetown closes the 2018-19 campaign with an overall record of 19-14. It was the program's 13th overall appearance in the NIT and the first postseason bid of second-year Head Coach Patrick Ewing's tenure. The Hoyas had one All-BIG EAST First Team honoree in Govan and picked up three spots on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team in Akinjo, LeBLanc and McClung with Akinjo as one of two freshmen to be selected to the squad unanimously. Akinjo became the seventh Hoya to be named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. The Hoyas will lose four players to graduation in Govan, Johnson, Malinowski and Mourning but the Blue & Gray returns four out of its five starters.