CHICAGO – Despite a 14-5 run to close the gap to 14 in the second half, Georgetown University's men's basketball team could not stage a comeback as the Hoays lost to DePaul 101-69 on Wednesday night at Wintrust Arena. With the setback, Georgetown slips to 18-12 on the season and an 8-9 mark in BIG EAST Conference play with just one regular season game remaining.
 
Mac McClung (Gate City, Va. / Gate City) and James Akinjo (Oakland, Calif. / Salesian College Preparatory) each tallied 13 points on the night as the lone Hoyas in double figures. Josh LeBlanc (Baton Rouge, La. / Madison Prep Academy) grabbed eight rebounds to lead the squad and his four rejections was a game high. Akinjo's seven helpers paced the GU offense.
 
DePaul got on the board first tallying four straight but McClung's layup cut it to two. Both squads knocked down 3-pointers to keep the game a one-possession affair but the Blue Demons claimed 12 unanswered for the 19-5 lead early. Akinjo was able to drain a deep 3-pointer to end the run and Trey Mourning (Miami, Fla. / Ransom Everglades) followed up with a fadeaway jumper to cut the deficit back to single digits 19-10. Despite DPU tallying a pair of buckets, Akinjo found the bottom of the net again from downtown to make it a 10-point game. The teams traded a bucket each for the Hoyas to trail 25-15 before the Blue Demons staged a 17-0 run to take the significant lead.
 
McClung ended the run when he nailed his triple and LeBlanc drew the foul for GU's first trip to the line in the game at 5:22. LeBlanc hit both of his free throws before a DePaul bucket. The Hoyas scrambled for points and found a quick five from McClung and Jahvon Blair (Brampton, Ontario / Athlete Institute Prep), the latter hitting a trey. Every time the Hoyas started to build momentum, the Blue Demons were able to hit shots. Following back-to-back layups from McClung and Jessie Govan (Queens Village, N.Y. / Wings Academy) the Hoyas got within 18 but DePaul closed on a 7-2 run for the 54-31 advantage at the break.
 
McClung got the Hoyas started in the second frame, knocking down a trio of free throws to cut the deficit to 20. Jagan Mosely (Marlboro, N.J. / St. Anthony) and LeBlanc combined for the next four points to give the Blue & Gray a spark and the 7-1 run to start the half. DePaul pushed the lead to 64-41 following a pair of triples, but Georgetown went on a 9-2 run bolstered by a pair of LeBlanc buckets, including a dunk, and a quintet of free throws, to pull within 16.
 
The Blue Demons converted a three-point play but five points from Akinjo and Blair got the Hoyas within 14, 69-55, the closest GU would get as DePaul would manage the 101-69 victory.
 
DePaul's Max Strus led the squad with 30 points. The Blue Demons (15-13, 7-10 BIG EAST) shot 49.2 percent (32 of 65) from the field.
 
Georgetown returns to action on Saturday, March 9 with a trip to Marquette to close the regular season. Tipoff at Fiserv Forum is set for 2:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen live on FOX. Fans can listen locally on The Team 980 and nationally on SiriusXM with Rich Chvotkin calling the action.
 
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