WASHINGTON –  Trailing by as many as 15, Georgetown University men's basketball's comeback bid fell short as the Hoyas fell 93-89 to the Butler University Bulldogs on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena. With the loss in the District, the Hoyas sit at an even 13-13 on the season with a 5-10 record in BIG EAST play while the Bulldogs improve to 14-13 with a 5-11 record in league action.
 
ON THE RECORD
"I told our group, you know, they had lost six in a row and that we were going to be playing a desperate, hungry team. I thought my team played Hoya basketball for four minutes and 10 seconds today. It was a very lazy group, not connected defensively. Very, very disappointed in our defensive effort, energy, attention to detail and preparation. You know, we have got a quick turnaround and have a really hard game on Saturday." - Head Coach Ed Cooley
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Caleb Williams led a quintet of Hoyas in double figures with 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including a 3-for-5 performance from deep.
• KJ Lewis chipped in 15 points on six made field goals to go along with a perfect 2-for-2 performance from the charity stripe.
• Julius Halaifonua added 12 points on an efficient 5-for-6 performance from the field while fellow big man Vince Iwuchukwu came off the bench for 12 of his own on a matching 5-for-6 effort.
• Malik Mack rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points on 50.0% (3-6) shooting, including a pair of triples.
• Kayvaun Mulready led the Hoyas on the glass grabbing four rebounds.
• Mack's seven helpers paced the offense that tallied 19 assists, a BIG EAST high.
• Georgetown shot 56.7% (34-60).
• The Blue & Gray and Bulldogs matched on the glass with each squad pulling down 28 rebounds.

 
BULLDOG HIGHLIGHTS

• Finley Bizjack led all scorers and five Bulldogs in double figures with 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting to go along with 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. Michael Ajayi and Jamie Kaiser Jr. each added 16, followed by Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor's 12 and Yohan Traore pitched in 11 off the bench.
• Ajayi led Butler on the grass, pulling down eight rebounds.
• Bizjack (6) and Ajayi (5) combined for 11 of BU's 18 assists to pace the offense.
• Butler shot 55.9% (33-59) for the game and 38.9% (7-18) from deep.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Butler was hot early, putting up a quick eight points in the opening two minutes as the visitors took an 8-2 lead. The Hoyas chipped away and made it a one-point game (8-7) behind a Halaifonua jumper and Mack triple, but the Bulldogs reeled off another five straight of their own to regain the advantage.
• GU's offense was pushing and, despite trailing 11 (24-13), managed three-straight buckets with one apiece from Halaifonua, Jayden Fort and Jeremiah Williams, to cut it to five. However, every time the Hoyas strung together a run, Butler found an answer.
• The Bulldogs led by as many as 13 in the first frame, but a Caleb Williams bucket closed the half with Butler leading 54-45 going into the locker room.
• Lewis got the scoring started in the second half, cutting the deficit to seven (54-47), but another quick five for BU put the visitors up double digits. An elusive four-point play from Lewis, his second in as many games, cut the deficit to eight (59-51) but Butler responded with an 11-4 run to take its largest lead yet at 15 points.
• Trailing 74-59, the Hoyas went on a 9-2 run fueled by buckets from Halaifonua and Mulready and anchored by free throws from C. Williams, Abraham and Mack. The run cut the lead to single digits as Georgetown trailed 76-68.
• The Bulldogs pushed it back to 12 but a Lewis and one brought the Hoyas back within single digits again. Butler responded with a dunk but this time it was Mack who laced the triple to cut it to seven (82-75) with 4:14 remaining.
• Despite BU pulling ahead double digits again, the Hoyas still held on to hope as Kayvaun Mulready drove the lane and dished a pass to C. Williams on the right side, who knocked down his triple. Free throws on the other end extended Butler's lead but another C. Williams triple made it a two-possession game before the Iwuchukwu hookshot pulled the Blue & Gray within four (87-83).
• With 43.8 ticks on the clock, Mulready drove through traffic to sink the shot, drew the foul and completed the three-point play to make it a one-possession game (89-86). A loose ball on the other end resulted in free throws but another C. Williams triple off the Mack dish with 5.5 seconds on the clock gave the Hoyas one-last breath of hope, trailing 91-89. A pair of Butler free throws provided the final 93-89 score.

 
OF NOTE

• With 19 assists in the game, it is a conference high for the Blue & Gray this season after tallying 18 in the first meeting against Butler.
• This is the first time GU has lost after tallying 16+ assists in a game having won the previous eight contests when achieving this feat.

 
UP NEXT
Georgetown returns to action on Saturday, February 21, on the road at the Prudential Center taking on the Seton Hall University Pirates. Tipoff in Newark, New Jersey is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on FS1 with Noah Reed calling the play-by-play and Jim Spanarkel 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.