INDIANAPOLIS – The Georgetown University men's basketball team grabbed its third win in a row with a 77-64 victory on the road against the Butler University Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Hoyas improve to 12-10 on the season with a 4-7 record in BIG EAST play while the Bulldogs slide to 13-9 overall with a 4-7 record in league action.
 
ON THE RECORD
"Great BIG EAST game. Obviously, I really appreciated all the Butler fans coming out with all the weather. You know, I thought our guys were prepared. I saw guys grow up again. You know, sharing the ball - back-to-back games where, you know, we prided ourselves on assists, prided ourselves on sharing the ball. Just trying to continue to grow and develop. So really, it's a tribute to the men. It's a tribute to their mental toughness and physical toughness. So I was really, really proud of the group today and fortunate to come away with the road win, as they're hard to get in this league." - Head Coach Ed Cooley
 
"I think everybody is back comfortable, like we eventually got a different type of presence at the rim and offensive paint. And I think everybody you know is just finding the rhythm and getting more comfortable as the year goes on." - KJ Lewis
 
"My main goal was to just come back and be the best player that could be. I know that defensively, if I do my job, my team has a pretty good chance." - Vince Iwuchukwu on returning to the lineup
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Vince Iwuchukwu and KJ Lewis led the scoring for the Hoyas in double figures with 17 points each. Iwuchukwu knocked down six field goals, including a 1-for-1 effort from beyond the arc and tallied a perfect 4-for-4 outing from the charity stripe. Lewis registered five made field goals, including a 3-for-5 outing from deep and went 4-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Malik Mack rounded out the Hoyas in double figures, recording 14 points on five made field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers and a perfect 2-for-2 shooting from the free throw line.
• Isaiah Abraham and Iwuchukwu each pulled down six rebounds to lead the Hoyas on the glass.
• Mack and Jeremiah Williams paced the offense with six assists apiece as the Hoyas dished out 18 helpers.
• Lewis managed a trio of steals on the day while Jayden Fort added a pair of blocks.
• Georgetown shot 54.9% (28-51) for the game and 50.0% (10-20) from beyond the arc.
• The Blue & Gray was outrebounded by the Bulldogs, 31-26.
• Georgetown forced seven Butler turnovers on four steals and three blocks, scoring 14 points off of the defensive efforts.

 
BULLDOG HIGHLIGHTS

• Jamie Kaiser led a duo of Bulldogs in double figures with 19 points, followed by Finley Bizjack with 16. 
• Drayton Jones led on the boards for the Bulldogs with eight rebounds.
• Michael Ajayi dished out a squad-best four assists.
• Butler shot 33.3% (21-63) from the field and 28.6% (6-21) from behind the three-point line.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The home team put points on the board first, getting to the line and knocking down a pair before an Iwuchukwu dunk off the Mack assist knotted up the game at 2-2. Lewis followed up with a trey as the Blue & Gray took a quick 5-2 lead early. Butler strung together six unanswered but a 5-2 swing for the Hoyas tied the game once again, this time at 10-10.
• Trailing two, a Jayden Fort jam tied the game at 15 apiece before the Bulldogs took another lead on a dunk on the other end. Iwuchukwu banked a trey to spark a 19-6 run fueled by a quartet of triples from Kayvaun Mulready, Mack, Caleb Williams and Lewis as well as buckets from Iwuchukwu and Jeremiah Williams as GU led 34-23 with 6:34 to play.
• Butler wouldn't go away, chipping away with a quick seven points. C. Williams reeled off five of his own with a layup through traffic followed by a triple to push the advantage back to nine (39-30). However, the home team closed on a 9-4 run to send the teams into the locker room with Georgetown holding the slim 43-39 lead.
• The squads traded buckets to open the second half and BU cut the deficit to one (45-44) before a 10-2 spurt for the Blue & Gray, fueled by eight points from the frontcourt duo of Iwuchukwu (6) and Fort (2). pushed the lead to 55-46.
• Georgetown's lead grew to as many as 11 (61-50) as Mulready drained another triple. However, the Bulldogs went on an 8-2 tear to bring the crowd back in and close the gap to four (63-59). A Mack trey gave the Blue & Gray some breathing room as free throws kept Butler in striking distance.
• BU's Ajayi nailed a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game (70-64) but that's as close as the home team would get with Lewis coupled a trey followed by a pair of free throws and the Blue & Gray sealed the 77-64 victory on a J. Williams driving layup.

 
OF NOTE

• With seven 3-pointers made in the first half, Georgetown tied its season best for the first frame originally set on December 22 against Coppin State. Five different Hoyas knocked down a triple with Lewis and C. Williams each managing a pair.
• GU's defense was able to hold Butler to no made field goals for the final seven plus minutes as the last bucket for the Bulldogs was a triple from Kaiser Jr. at 7:27.

 
UP NEXT
Georgetown returns to action on Wednesday, February 4, taking on the Creighton Bluejays at Capital One Arena. Tipoff in the District is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Peacock with Paul Burmeister calling the play-by-play and Brendan Haywood 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.