WASHINGTON  – On Senior Night, Jamorko Pickett, Jahvon Blair, and Chudier Bile stepped up, all three scoring in double figures, as the Georgetown University men's basketball team topped the Xavier University Musketeers 72-66 on Tuesday in a BIG EAST Conference matchup at McDonough Arena. With the victory, the Hoyas improve to 9-11 on the season and 7-8 in league play, while Xavier falls to 13-6 overall and 6-6 in conference action.
 
ON THE RECORD
"I do believe we're playing our best basketball. Our defense is right there. And if we continue to move the ball and share the ball, our offense will be right there. We just have to continue to focus, continue to play hard, practice hard and then get ourselves ready for the next opponent." - Head Coach Patrick Ewing on the way the Hoyas have been playing late in the season
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Senior Jamorko Pickett led the way for the Hoyas as he tallied 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting––including two treys––as well as registering seven rebounds.
• Graduate student Chudier Bile led the Hoyas on the glass with 11 rebounds, and also added 16 points, 14 in the second half,  to his statline for his second double-double in as many games, while adding a trio of blocks.
• Qudus Wahab (13) and Jahvon Blair (12) rounded out those in double figures while Blair's three assists were a squad best.
• The Blue & Gray edged the Musketeers in rebounding 46-44.
• The Hoyas shot 39.3 percent (24-61) from the floor while allowing 36.8 percent shooting (22-68) from XU.
• The Hoyas scored 18 points off second-chance buckets, while limiting the Musketeers to just 7.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Georgetown was the first to get on the scoreboard, with Pickett draining a 3-pointer just over two minutes into the contest.
• The Hoyas and Musketeers traded baskets throughout the opening half of the first frame, and at the 10:17 mark, Wahab's layup was enough to give the Blue & Gray a slim three-point lead, 15-12.
• GU's lead grew to 10 after Blair nailed a jumper to make it 24-14 with 5:59 to play.
• With 41 seconds to go in the first stanza, Wahab converted a traditional three-point play to give the Blue & Gray the 38-23 lead going into halftime.
• Wahab got the scoring going for the Hoyas as play resumed, knocking down a layup from inside.
• Bile hit back-to-back shots from behind the arc to keep the Musketeers chasing a 17 point lead, 53-36, with 12:03 to play.
• Xavier would go on a 12-3 run, cutting the Hoya lead down to just nine, before Blair sunk two free-throws from the charity stripe to slow the Musketeer momentum with 6:17 to play.
• The Musketeers eventually made it a one-possession game, but the Hoyas staved off the late comeback and held on for the 72-66 victory.

 
OF NOTE

• Blair connected on a 3-pointer in the 32nd-consecutive game he has appeared in, and his trey now gives him 194 for his career, keeping him third all-time at Georgetown, trailing only D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (250) and Jonathan Wallace (240).
• Bile's second double-double in as many games is the first back-to-back double-double performance for a Hoya since Wahab did it earlier this year (12/23/2020 and 01/02/2021).

 
UP NEXT FOR THE HOYAS
The Hoyas will head to Storrs, Connecticut for its final regular season matchup of the season, taking on the University of Connecticut Huskies on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is set for noon and the game will be broadcast live on CBS.