CHICAGO – Free throws from Jayden Epps with 8.1 seconds remaining sealed Georgetown men's basketball's 77-76 victory at DePaul on Saturday night. Epps poured in 33 points in the victory at Wintrust Arena as the Hoyas improve to 9-18 on the season with a 2-14 record in BIG EAST play. DePaul slips to 3-24 on the year with a 0-16 record in league play.
 
ON THE RECORD
"This is a really great arena … I enjoy coming to Chicago, we have a lot of alums out here. I'm proud of our guys - both programs have struggled this year, let's call it exactly what it is. It played out to how each team was fighting - we came out strong in the first, they came out strong in the second half, took the lead, battled back - I was really proud of our men's resilience. I thought we were resilient. We didn't put our heads down, we didn't play well defensively for about an eight-minute stretch but I thought we had timely baskets, I thought Jayden Epps showed incredible leadership and we were able to prevail."  - Head Coach Ed Cooley
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Jayden Epps led all scorers with 33 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the floor to go along with an 11-for-13 performance from the charity stripe. He dished out a squad-best five assists on the night. It was Epps' second-straight 30+ point game. It is the second time this season he has recorded back-to-back 30-point performances.
• Rowan Brumbaugh added 14 points on five made field goals as well as a 4-for-5 effort from the free throw line.
• Dontrez Styles rounded out those in double figures as he tallied 12 points, fueled by a 7-for-8 night from charity stripe as well as a pair of field goals.
• Supreme Cook grabbed a squad-best 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
• The Hoyas shot 45.1% (23-51) for the game and allowed DePaul 45.8% (27-59) shooting on the night.
• The Blue & Gray won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Blue Demons 39-26.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Georgetown jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead behind an Epps triple and a Bristol bucket. The squads traded buckets, going back and forth between a one- and two-possession game before a mini 5-0 run from Epps extended GU's lead to nine (16-7, 12:12).
• A Jay Heath 3-pointer gave the Hoyas their first double-digit lead of the day (21-11) but a 6-2 spurt from the Blue Demons cut the deficit to six with 7:54 on the clock. The Blue & Gray retorted with an 8-2 run of its own, fueled by a pair of treys from Epps and a Drew Fielder bucket forcing DePaul to call a timeout.
• The Hoyas would lead by as many as 15 (39-24) down the stretch and took a 41-28 lead into the locker room.
• The Blue Demons came out of the break red hot, outsourcing the Hoyas 19-7 and capped with eight unanswered, forcing the GU timeout, as DePaul was within one (48-47) with 15:19 to play.
• The Blue Demons went on to take their first lead of the game (49-48) behind free throws as the Blue & Gray faced foul trouble early in the second frame.
• As DePaul's shooting cooled down, the Hoyas started to find their second-half rhythm as a layup from Epps pushed the Hoyas back up 54-51. However, the home team would not give in, clawing back and leading by as many as four down the stretch.
• The Hoyas swung the momentum back behind the play of Brumbaugh and Epps as well as an emphatic dunk from Cook off a turnover to build the lead up to four (73-69) with 1:54 to play.
• Five-straight points all from DePaul's Da'Sean Nelson gave the Blue Demons a 76-75 lead with 26 seconds on the clock.
• Epps drove the basket, drew the foul and drained a pair of free throws with 8.1 seconds to take the 77-76 lead. A missed layup on DePaul's final possession sealed the Hoya victory.

 
UP NEXT
The Hoyas have a quick turnaround, returning to action on Tuesday, February 27 with a road game at Villanova. Tipoff at Finneran Pavilion is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on FS1 with John Fanta calling the play-by-play and Jim Spanarkel providing analysis. The radio call of Rich Chvotkin, in his 50th season as the Voice of the Hoyas, can be heard locally on 1580 AM and nationally on the SiriusXM app.