NEW YORK  – The eighth-seeded Georgetown University men's basketball team held ninth-seeded Marquette to just 14 points in the first half, en route to a convincing 68-49 win over the Golden Eagles in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament Presented by Jeep at Madison Square Garden. With the victory, the Hoyas improve to 10-12 on the season, while Marquette drops to 13-14.
 
ON THE RECORD
"Tonight it was a total team effort. Everyone did something positive to help us win. Don Carey was solid. Jamorko Pickett, he didn't shoot the ball particularly well but did a great job defensively and getting opportunities when he had them. And the big fellow here, Qudus played great for us. He got tired in the second half. I had to curse him out and tell him 'man, get your butt back on defense.' Took him out and Timmy Ighoefe came in and did a great job. But it was a total team effort." - Head Coach Patrick Ewing on the team's performance
"I feel like this is probably the best defensive game we've played. They scored 14 points in the first half. We were rebounding, defensive rebounding was good. We had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half. That helped us a lot.: - Qudus Wahab on Georgetown's efforts defensively and on the glass
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Jahvon Blair finished with a game-high 20 points, his eighth 20-point performance of the season, on 8-of-14 shooting.
• Qudus Wahab scored a career-best 19 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.
• Chudier Bile and Jamorko Pickett each grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while Pickett and Donald Carey each scored eight points on the offensive end.
• Dante Harris managed a career-high five steals defensively, the most by a Hoya this season.
• Georgetown was dominant on the glass, out-rebounding Marquette by a 46-32 margin, including grabbing 16 offensive rebounds for 20 second-chance points.
• The Hoyas won the battle under the rim, outscoring Marquette 26-12 in the paint.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a slow start for both teams saw Marquette holding a 4-2 lead almost three minutes into the game, the Hoyas embarked on a 20-4 run over a 10-minute span to open up a 22-8 lead. Wahab led the charge with seven points, while Blair and Timothy Ighoefe each chipped in four and Bile finished the run with a trey.
• Marquette hit consecutive 3-pointers to cut the lead to single digits, but GU's defense clamped down and held the Golden Eagles scoreless over the final six minutes of the half.
• Georgetown ended the opening frame on a 10-0 run, led by four points from Pickett, to take a 32-14 lead into the break.
• The two teams traded baskets to start the second half before the Golden Eagles put together a quick 7-0 run to cut GU's lead to 11. The Hoyas answered right back with seven unanswered points of their own, on a trey from Blair and buckets from Pickett and Wahab, to pull back ahead 43-25.
• The Blue & Gray had an answer for every Marquette basket as the Hoyas maintained a lead of at least 14 points. A 3-pointer by Carey capped a 7-0 streak that gave GU its biggest lead at 59-38 with 5:14 remaining.
• Georgetown continued to hold Marquette at bay as free throws and an emphatic dunk from Wahab sealed the victory.

 
OF NOTE

• Blair connected on a 3-pointer in the 34th-consecutive game he has appeared in, and his two treys now give him 200 for his career which is third all-time at Georgetown, trailing only D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (250) and Jonathan Wallace (240).
• Pickett's eight rebounds give him 599 for his career, moving him into 24th place in the GU record books.
• The 14 points in the first half were a season low for Marquette in any half. Georgetown grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, leading to 15 second-chance points.

 
UP NEXT FOR THE HOYAS
The Hoyas advance to the BIG EAST Quarterfinals and will return to action on Thursday afternoon against top-seeded Villanova. Tipoff is set for noon and the game will be broadcast on FS1 with Tim Brando callilng the play-by-play and Jim Jackson providing analysis.