WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's basketball team couldn't contain a second-half surge from the visiting Xavier University Musketeers, falling 80-77 at Capital One Arena on Saturday night. With the setback, the Hoyas slip to 8-4 on the season and 1-1 in BIG EAST play while Xavier improves to 9-4 on the year with a 1-1 mark in BIG EAST play.
 
ON THE RECORD
"As disappointed as I am today, at least we have another opportunity to bounce back. As disappointing as this is, you can't let today beat us tomorrow. Xavier came in, outrebounded us out and executed when it counted, and that's why they won. We did a poor job. I did a poor job to help my team execute down the stretch. So I'll do a better job, and hopefully the staff does a better job for us to be prepared for our next game" - Head Coach Ed Cooley
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Malik Mack led a trio of Hoyas in double figures with 21 points on eight eight made field goals.
• Julius Halaifonua tallied 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting while KJ Lewis rounded out those in double figures with 15 points of his own.
• Jeremiah Williams grabbed a squad-best seven rebounds while Lewis and Caleb Williams followed up with six apiece.
• J. Williams paced the offense with four assists.
• Georgetown shot 40.4% (23-57) from the field and 34.6% (6-17) from beyond the arc.
• The Hoyas lost the battle on the glass as Xavier outrebounded GU 45-36.

 
MUSKETEER HIGHLIGHTS

• Tre Carroll scored a game-high 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field, followed by Roddie Anderson III and Malik Messina-Moore, who each scored 14 points apiece and Filip Borovicanin with 11 points.
• Borovicanin pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for the double-double, while Carroll and Jovan Milicevic grabbed eight.
• A trio of Musketeers paced the offense with four assists apiece including Anderson, Borovicanin and Carroll.
• Xavier shot 46.3% (31-67) from the field, 31.8% (7-22) from beyond the arc, and 78.6% (11-14) from the charity stripe.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Georgetown pulled out to a 6-2 lead early before Xavier reeled off five in a row to get out in front. An Isaiah Abraham triple stopped the run but a Xavier bucket would tie up the game at 9-9.
• The Musketeers would pull ahead by four (17-13) before a Halaifonua bucket was followed up by a Mack triple as Georgetown regained the lead. XU went ahead once again but a 10-0 run for the Blue & Gray fueled by four from Mack, a triple from Abraham and free throws from Lewis and Halaifonua, put GU ahead 28-19 (7:52).
• Despite Georgetown leading by as many as 10 (32-22), Xavier would not back down, staging a 9-1 run to make it a one-possession game. However, the Hoyas had the answer on the other end as Kayvaun Mulready laced a triple and Halaifonua followed up with a turnaround jumper to give GU some breathing room.
• The teams would trade buckets before going into the locker room with the Hoyas up 40-35 at the break.
• The Musketeers got on the board first in the second frame but a Mack traditional three-point play pushed GU ahead a pair of possessions. XU kept it close, trading points with the Blue & Gray until the game was knotted at 50 apiece (15:49).
• Georgetown held off Xavier but the momentum was building for the Musketeers, who strung together six unanswered to take its first lead of the second half, 62-61, with 9:05 on the clock. A free throw tied the game back up as the teams traded the lead.
• Despite trips to the line, poor shooting from the charity stripe plagued the squad just as Xavier was heating up from the field.
• Xavier pulled ahead 69-67 (4:01) and would never look back, holding on for the 80-77 victory at the final whistle.

 
OF NOTE

• Mack scored his 1,000th collegiate point at 16:09 in the second half, on a driving layup.
• Mack registered his second 20-point outing of the season.

 
UP NEXT
Georgetown will return to action on Monday, December 22 when the squad hosts the Coppin State Eagles at McDonough Arena. Tipoff at GU's on-campus home is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1 with Dan Kolko calling the play-by-play and Martin Bahar providing analysis. The game can be heard locally on Team 980 as well as on the SiriusXM app with Rich Chvotkin, in his 52nd season as the Voice of the Hoyas, calling the action.