INDIANAPOLIS  – The Georgetown University men's basketball team used a strong second half to push past the Butler University Bulldogs 68-62 at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon. A trio of Hoyas in double figures paired with the Blue & Gray owning the battle on the glass sealed the road win.
 
ON THE RECORD
"For the most part we fought - we made mistakes in the first half, I got on them at halftime, they stayed focused and they came out and played in the second half. Everyone did some positive things to be able to come away with a win. Qudus Wahab with his four offensive rebounds was big for us, Brandon (Murray) with his 17 points, Jay Heath with his clutch plays down the stretch. We did a great job defensively - they hit six threes at one point in the first half and they only made one in the second half and that's where the game was right there." - Head Coach Patrick Ewing on today's game
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Brandon Murray led a trio of Hoyas in double figures with 17 points on six field goals and a 4-of-5 performance from the charity stripe. He grabbed six rebounds, and added a pair each of assists and steals.
• Qudus Wahab tallied 14 points on an efficient 5-for-6 effort off the bench as well as a 4-for-5 showing at the line. Wahab and Bryson Mozone each pulled down a team-best eight boards
• Jay Heath finished the game with 12 points to round out those in double figures. He added seven rebounds and an assist.
• Primo Spears paced the offense with a squad-best four helpers.
• Georgetown (7-21, 2-15 BIG EAST) shot 39.0% (23-59) for the game while Butler managed 41.7% (25-60) shooting.
• The Hoyas owned the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Bulldogs 45-29. 

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Butler (13-15, 5-12 BE) jumped out to a quick lead (19-6) as the Blue & Gray struggled to find its offense early but a Wahab turnaround jumper sparked a run of 12 unanswered for the visiting team. Four different Hoyas managed points in the run led by four apiece from Wahab and Murray.
• As the Hoyas made it a one-point game, BU ended the run on a triple and would quickly lead by seven (27-20, 7:26) once again.
• GU strung together three-straight buckets with Wahab tallying a pair and Spears' driving layup capping the mini run to pull within one (29-28, 4:27) once again.
• However, Georgetown could not get the equalizer and went into the break trailing 37-32.
• The Hoyas started strong in the second half and another Wahab layup followed by a Murray triple pulled the Blue & Gray within two (41-39) but Butler once again found the bottom of the net from beyond the arc to make it a two-possession game.
• The Hoyas continued to put pressure on the Bulldogs, making it a one-point game three different times but were unable to even the score. As the Hoya offense struggled, Butler pulled ahead by as many as seven (54-47) forcing a GU timeout.
• Out of the huddle, Mozone knocked down a triple to cut it to four before a Murray reverse layup made it a one-possession game (54-52).
• Heath drained a 3-pointer as the Hoyas took their first lead of the game with 7:23 remaining in the second frame. Both teams would trade the lead before back-to-back buckets from Wahab and Murray gave the Hoyas the four-point advantage (62-58, 4:04) forcing the Bulldogs to call a timeout.
• Murray, Spears and Heath sunk their free throws late and sealed the 68-62 win.

 
UP NEXT
Georgetown returns to the District and will host the St. John's University Red Storm on Wednesday, February 22. Tipoff at Capital One Arena is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Andrew Catalon calling the play-by-play and Steve Lappas providing analysis. Fans can hear the radio call of Rich Chvotkin, in his 49th season as the Voice of the Hoyas, locally on 106.7 The Fan and nationally on Sirius XM 392.