MILWAUKEE – Georgetown's freshman backcourt of James Akinjo (Oakland, Calif. / Salesian College Preparatory) and Mac McClung (Gate City, Va. / Gate City) combined for 48 points as the Georgetown University men's basketball team upset No. 16/15 Marquette 86-84 on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Hoyas close the regular season with a 19-12 overall record and an even 9-9 mark in BIG EAST Conference play. This is the first time since 2015 the Blue & Gray has been able to steal a road win against the Golden Eagles.
 
Akinjo led the Hoyas with 25 points, 20 coming in the second half, as he drilled a quintet of 3-pointers on the day. McClung followed up with 23 points, including 11 from the free throw line. Jessie Govan (Queens Village, N.Y. / Wings Academy) and Jamorko Pickett (Washington, D.C. / Massanutten Military Academy [Va.]) rounded out those in double figures with 10 apiece. Trey Mourning (Miami, Fla. / Ransom Everglades) grabbed seven boards to lead the squad while Akinjo's five assists was a team best. For the game the Blue & Gray shot 45.1 percent (23 of 51), including a 57.9 clip (11 of 19) from beyond the arc.
 
"I thought this was a great bounce back game," Head Coach Patrick Ewing said. "It was a total team effort for us to get this win. Marquette – they're one of the best teams in the BIG EAST. We had an opportunity to beat them the first time we played them, but we kept our nose to the grindstone and just kept on fighting and we were able to come away with the win today."
 
An Akinjo pull-up jumper started off the scoring for the Hoyas but Marquette strung together a quick five for the lead. A pair of free throws from McClung pulled the Blue & Gray within one, 5-4. The Golden Eagles pulled ahead but an Akinjo triple knotted the game at 7. The Hoyas looked to the long ball as an open Josh LeBlanc (Baton Rouge, La. / Madison Prep Academy) squared up and drained his 3-pointer and McClung beat the shot clock from downtown as the Hoyas managed a 13-12 lead. A game played from beyond the arc, MU nailed a triple before Pickett pulled up and sunk his trey for the 16-15 advantage with 11:44 remaining in the frame.
 
The teams were trading buckets but defensive stops for the Hoyas led to a 21-19 advantage following a Pickett three-point play. The game went back and forth until the tandem of Jahvon Blair (Brampton, Ontario / Athlete Institute Prep) and McClung combined for a trio of free throws for the 28-26 lead. Despite the Golden Eagles tallying a quick four, McClung answered with five of his own, a jumper and a triple, for the 33-30 advantage. MU answered right back with a 3-pointer on the other end to tie the ball game but Govan's free throws swung the lead back right back to the Blue & Gray. The Hoyas were able to garner the lead on a pair of Mourning free throws but an MU triple to beat the buzzer provided the 39-37 MU advantage going into the break.
 
LeBlanc got the Hoyas going in the second half tying the game with a jumper but seven unanswered pushed Marquette ahead quickly. However, multiple trips to the charity stripe put the Hoyas within striking distance as they trailed 46-43. An Akinjo shot from downtown tied the game at 46 while Govan's 3-pointer capped a 10-0 run for the Hoyas and provided the 49-46 advantage. A game of runs, the Golden Eagles answered with an11-0 run and the 57-49 lead. Akinjo ended the scoring drought as he sunk his 3-pointer on the left side to pull within five, 57-52. The teams traded points until Mourning's turnaround jumper dropped right in for the Hoyas to pull within five. Trailing six, LeBlanc drove the lane, made his layup and drew the foul. LeBlanc's three-point play made it a one-possession game as the Blue & Gray trailed 61-58.
 
Behind 63-60, Akinjo was able to set up on the left side and hit his shot from downtown to tie the game at 63 with 8:37 remaining in regulation. Trading triples, Akinjo nailed his fifth trey to knot the game at 66 and went on to take the 68-67 lead on a pair of free throws. A stop on the defensive end led to an Akinjo floater for 10-straight points from the freshman and a 70-67 GU lead forcing the MU timeout. McClung twice drove the lane and each time drew the foul, sinking all four free throws to take a five-point lead. MU managed four free throws to pull within one, 74-73.
 
With the game tied at 75, McClung pulled up on the right side to nail his jumper and give the Hoyas the edge. Free throws knotted the game once again but Akinjo was able to find the bottom of the net for the GU two-point advantage. The Hoyas worked the ball around the court to find an open Pickett at the top of the arc who drained his 3-pointer for the five-point lead. Marquette hit a trey to pull within a pair but as the game came down to free throws, the Hoyas held on for the 86-84 victory at the final whistle.
 
Marquette's Markus Howard led the squad with 28 points. The Golden Eagles (23-8, 12-6 BIG EAST) shot 34.3 percent (23 of 67) from the field.
 
Georgetown awaits the final games of the BIG EAST regular season on Saturday night to find out its seeding in the BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep. The BIG EAST Tournament will be held at Madison Square Garden March 13-16 in New York City. All games of the tournament leading up to the finals will be televised live on FS1 and the finals will be televised live on FOX. Fans can listen to Rich Chvotkin's call nationally on SiriusXM and locally on The Team 980.  
 
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