WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's basketball team fell to the Villanova University Wildcats, 80-73, at Capital One Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Hoyas slip to 13-11 on the season with a 5-8 record in BIG EAST play while the Wildcats improve to 18-5 overall with a 9-3 record in league action.
 
ON THE RECORD
"You know, I talked to our men all the time, and I just left the locker room and I talked to them about little things during the course of the game, you know. And in today's world, the kids with the my bads, caught up to us today, because, to a man, to a coach me, we had a my bad during that game. I thought we played hard. We didn't have intelligence playing today. It's the second time we've played them in less than a month, and again, very good. Give them a lot of credit … We did not do what we were supposed to do, from a scouting standpoint, we did not execute our way into victory. We tried to play our way into victory." - Head Coach Ed Cooley
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Malik Mack led a trio of Hoyas in double figures with 21 points on seven made field goals, including a trio of triples and a 4-for-5 performance from the charity stripe.
• Vince Iwuchukwu followed up with his second double-double in as many games, tallying 15 points off the bench on an efficient 5-for-7 performance from the field and a 5-for-7 showing from the free throw line. He managed 12 boards for his third double-double of the season.
• KJ Lewis rounded out those in double figures with 13 points.
• Iwuchukwu's 12 rebounds led the Hoyas as Caleb Williams, Julius Halaifonua and Lewis all grabbed five apiece as well.
• Mack dished out three assists and the trio of C. Williams, Halaifonua and Iwuchuwu tallied two assists apiece.
• Lewis and C. Williams each tallied a pair of steals while Jeremiah Williams managed the one block on the day.
• Georgetown shot 40.0% (24-60) for the game and 28.0% (7-25) from beyond the arc.
• The Blue & Gray outrebounded the Wildcats, 40-37.

 
WILDCAT HIGHLIGHTS

• Acaden Lewis scored a game-high 26 points on 11-for-15 shooting, followed by Tyler Perkins (15), Duke Brennan (13) and Malachi Palmer (10).
• Brennan pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds for the double-double while Perkins snagged eight.
• Lewis paced the Wildcat offense with six assists.
• Villanova shot 49.1% (28-57) and 34.5% (10-29) from beyond the arc.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Georgetown got on the board first with early trips to the line. Despite a Villanova triple, a Mack jumper put the Hoyas ahead 6-3. As the teams traded baskets, a Jeremiah Williams jumper pushed the Blue & Gray ahead 14-10 with 15:27 on the clock.
• Villanova answered with five straight to take a slim 15-14 lead but an 8-2 spurt for the Blue & Gray, sparked by an Isaiah Abraham 3-pointer and capped by buckets from the frontcourt duo of Iwuchukwu and Jayden Fort, pushed the Hoyas back ahead with 11:32 to play.
• The 'Cats wouldn't go away, clawing back for the 27-26 advantage (7:54) but five straight points from Lewis gave GU the lead once again. It was back and forth until Villanova's Acaden Lewis made it a one-possession game (33-31) but a pair of Iwuchukwu buckets gave the Blue & Gray its biggest lead of the frame, 37-31, forcing the Nova timeout.
• VU cut the deficit to two, forcing the GU timeout, but out of the huddle, C. Williams found an open Kayvaun Mulready who drained a 3-pointer to give GU some breathing room. Another Nova bucket sent the squads into the locker room with Georgetown up 40-37.
• The 'Cats came out hot after the break, sinking a pair of treys to take the 43-40 lead early in the stanza. C. Williams' 3-pointer was the catalyst to a 10-1 run capped by four in a row from Mack to close the run. However, Villanova registered a 17-4 run to swing the momentum back for a seven-point advantage.
• A 10-3 run from the Hoyas bolstered by eight points from Mack and a Fort bucket tied the game up at 64-64. The Hoyas tied it again at 66-66 but Villanova was strong from deep down the stretch and took the 80-73 victory.

 
OF NOTE

• Mack's 21 points marked the fourth game this season the junior has managed 20+ in a game and the first time he has done it in back-to-back games since the College Basketball Crown when he tallied a career-best 37 in a win against Washington State and followed that up with 25 against Nebraska in the quarterfinals.
• Iwuchukwu recorded back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in his career. It is the first time a Hoya has recorded a double-double in consecutive games since last season when Thomas Sorber, now with the reigning NBA Champions Oklahoma City Thunder, achieved the feat at Villanova (01/20/2025) and at Providence (01/25/2025).

 
UP NEXT
Georgetown returns to action on Saturday, February 14, on the road at Gampel Pavilion taking on the University of Connecticut Huskies. Tipoff in Storrs, Connecticut is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network and Peacock with John Fanta calling the play-by-play and Donny Marshall 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.