PISCATAWAY, N.J.  – The Georgetown University men's basketball team suffered a 71-60 road loss to Rutgers on Wednesday night at Jersey Mike's Arena as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. With the setback, the Hoyas are now 1-2 while Rutgers improves to 3-1 on the season.
 
ON THE RECORD
"These Gavitt Games mean a lot … The BIG EAST was formed by that gentleman, the Dream Team was formed by that gentleman. So before we answer any questions about today's game, I want to make sure we pay proper respect to Coach (Dave) Gavitt and what his vision was to create a monster - the best conference in all of college basketball. There's a reason why every time people talk about college basketball, the BIG EAST is at the forefront of everybody's conversation." - Head Coach Ed Cooley on the Gavitt Games
 
"As far as the game today, credit Rutgers, they did a great job. They got 50/50 balls, their press bothered us - indicated by the 20 turnovers. I don't think we attacked it the way we wanted to. This is our third game with this team and I thought we improved today. We didn't win the scoreboard today, but I thought we improved as a team. I'm proud of our men, I'm really really proud of our men."
- Cooley on the game
 
HOYA NOTES

• For the second-consecutive game, Jayden Epps led a pair of Hoyas in double-figure scoring as he tallied 16 points on four made field goals and a 6-for-7 effort from the free-throw line.
• Dontrez Styles tallied 15 points on a 4-for-7 performance from the field, including a 3-for-5 effort from beyond the arc, and chipped in another four from the charity stripe. Styles led the Hoyas on the glass with 7 rebounds while Ryan Mutombo and Supreme Cook each chipped in six apiece.
• The Hoyas shot 35.3% (18-51) for the game while the Scarlet Knights shot 24-for-53 (45.3%) from the floor.
• Georgetown won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Rutgers 40-29.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Hoyas started off slow in the first half but an Epps layup knotted the game at 4-4. Epps continued to be GU's go-to as he drained a long 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two (10-8) minutes later.
• Rutgers hit its stride midway through the frame and its lead ballooned to 13 (30-17) with 7:48 to play. The Hoyas would start to chip away but a Jay Heath triple sparked nine unanswered, all on Hoya 3-pointers and featuring a pair from Styles, to pull GU within two (31-29).
• The two squads traded buckets and a Styles trey made it a one-point game (33-32, 1:13) but the Scarlet Knights closed on a pair of buckets to take a 38-32 lead into the locker room.
• Rutgers came out firing in the second half and took a commanding 18-point lead (54-36) that stood for more than three minutes of action before a Cook layup ended the 11-0 RU run.
• The Scarlet Knights would not relinquish the double-digit lead and held on for the 71-60 victory.

 
UP NEXT
The Hoyas return home to the District for a pair of games as part of the Georgetown MTE on Saturday and Sunday. The Blue & Gray welcomes Mount St. Mary's to Capital One Arena for a noon tip on Saturday, November 18 before returning to its downtown home to face American on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Saturday's game can be seen live on Fox 5 Plus in the DC metro region with Dan Kolko calling the play-by-play and Dickey Simpkins providing analysis. The radio call of Rich Chvotkin, in his 50th season as the Voice of the Hoyas, can be heard locally on 99.1 FM.