WASHINGTON. – Behind a quartet of players in double figures, the Georgetown University men's basketball team picked up the 70-61 home victory against the DePaul University Blue Demons on Wednesday evening. With the win at Capital One Arena, the Hoyas improve to 11-10 on the season with a 3-7 record in BIG EAST play while the Blue Demons slip to 12-9 overall with a 4-6 record in league action.
 
ON THE RECORD
"I thought we had carried over with enthusiasm in our preparation, so happy for our men. I thought everybody that touched the floor did a great job and were able to close it out from the free throw line. So that's always good to see when you can close games the right way. Looking forward to having a really, really quick turnaround having to go to Butler early game on Saturday." - Head Coach Ed Cooley
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Malik Mack led a quartet of Hoyas in double figures with 16 points on three made field goals and a perfect 10-for-10 performance from the charity stripe.
• Julius Halaifonua chipped in 11 points on a perfect 5-for-5 performance from the field, including a 3-pointer. He added a quartet of rebounds and one assist.
• Vince Iwuchukwu came off the bench to add 11 of his own on an efficient 4-for-5 effort from the field to go along with a 3-for-4 performance from the free throw line, while Caleb Williams contributed 10 points on 50.0% (4-8) shooting.
• C. Williams, KJ Lewis and Kayvaun Mulready each collected six rebounds to lead the Hoyas on the glass.
• Mack's seven assists paced the offense while Jeremiah Williams and Lewis each tallied a pair of steals.
• Georgetown shot 51.1% (24-47) for the game and 41.7% (5-12) from beyond the arc.
• The Blue & Gray outrebounded by the Blue Demons, 30-27.
• Georgetown forced 11 DPU turnovers on six steals and tallied a quartet of blocks.

 
BLUE DEMON HIGHLIGHTS

• Brandon Maclin led a trio of Blue Demons in double figures with 19 points on eight made field goals. RJ Smith and Laydon Blocker followed with 13 points apiece.
• N.J. Benson led on the boards for the Blue Demons with six rebounds.
• Smith dished out a squad-best four assists.
• DePaul shot 41.4% (24-58) from the field and 39.3% from behind the three-point line.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Georgetown got on the board first with a pair of buckets, one apiece from Mack and Halaifonua, while a big Lewis block continued to hold the Blue Demons scoreless in the early minutes. DePaul connected on a triple for its first points but the Hoyas answered right back with a Lewis dunk followed by a Halaifonua bucket to take the 8-3 lead early (15:18).
• While the visitors relied on the long ball, the Blue & Gray worked inside with an Iwuchukwu alleyoop off the Lewis dish followed by a steal and driving layup from Jeremiah Williams to give GU a seven-point cushion (14-7). However, a 9-2 spurt for DePaul would knot the game at 16-16.
• Mack would find an open C. Williams who knocked down the 3-pointer to give the Blue & Gray a lead once again. A DePaul bucket would cut it to one point (19-18) before the Hoyas closed the half on a 15-6 run fueled by a balanced effort with five GU players scoring. The run included another Iwuchukwu dunk and was capped by a Halaifonua 3-pointer to send the squads into the break with the Hoyas up 34-24.
• The Blue Demons came out firing in the second half, reeling off eight unanswered before a pair of Mack free throws pushed GU back up a pair of possessions. Another C. Williams triple gave the Blue & Gray some breathing room but DePaul wouldn't go away as the teams traded buckets until the media timeout.
• Out of the huddle, GU strung together a pair of Iwuchukwu free throws to go along with a Kayvaun Mulready 3-pointer to push the lead to 10. As the teams went back and forth, a Halaifonua bucket coupled with a pair of Isaiah Abraham free throws gave the Blue & Gray its largest lead at 55-42.
• DePaul clawed its way back to pull within six down the stretch until a C. Williams layup and a Lewis steal turned into a Mulready dunk to push the advantage back to 10 (61-51). The Blue Demons worked again to make it a two-possession game and called the 30-second timeout, but out of the huddle Lewis again found an open Mulready for the trey on the right side to push the lead back to nine.
• Despite DePaul relying on the long ball, it was hustle plays on the defensive end of the floor from Mulready that preserved the GU lead as the Hoyas held on for the 70-61 victory at the final whistle.

 
UP NEXT
Georgetown returns to action on Saturday, January 31, taking on the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Tipoff in Indianapolis is scheduled for noon and the game will be broadcast on TNT and truTV with Brian Anderson calling the play-by-play, Grant Hill providing analysis and Andy Katz reporting from the sidelines. 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.