Georgetown and host DePaul will each be looking to end three-game losing streaks when they meet in Big East play on Thursday in Chicago.
The Hoyas (5-8, 0-2 Big East) are coming off an 84-73 loss at No. 2 UConn on Dec. 20, while DePaul (6-7, 0-2) was blown out by host Creighton, 80-65, in the first-ever Big East Conference game on Christmas Day.
Georgetown became the first team to lead undefeated UConn in the second half this season and held a 58-51 advantage with 12:50 left. But the Huskies responded with a 14-4 run to take a 65-62 lead they wouldn’t relinquish following Hassan Diarra’s 3-pointer with 8:52 to go.
The Hoyas committed 14 turnovers — twice as many as the Huskies — which led to 16 UConn points.
“The turnovers we made let them back in the game, but I thought we took a step today in terms of our intensity,” Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing said.
Primo Spears, who averages a team-high 17.7 points per game, scored 19 points to lead five Hoyas in double figures. Qudus Wahab, who averages 11.2 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game, added 16 points and nine rebounds.
Brandon Murray, who averages 14.6 points, and Jay Heath, who chips in 13.9 points per game, each finished with 10 points, as did Akok Akok.
DePaul never led against Creighton, which was ahead 39-28 at halftime and by never fewer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Eral Penn had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Jalen Terry and Umoja Gibson scored 14 apiece for the Blue Demons. Javan Johnson added 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Blue Demons struggled at times against Bluejays 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner and were lit up by Trey Alexander, who went 7 of 12 from 3-point range en route to finishing with a career-high 32 points.
“That’s a very good basketball team,” DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield said. “They got Kalkbrenner back and it’s a different element to that team that you have to lock in so much and focus in on him that you have a guy like Trey Alexander go off on a night like tonight, but that’s what good teams do.”
Johnson averages a team-high 15.9 points per game, while Gibson averages 14.1 points and a team-high 4.9 assists per game. Penn chips in 11.4 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game.
DePaul defeated Georgetown twice last season, winning 82-74 in Chicago and 68-65 in Washington, D.C.
–Field Level Media
