Field Level Media
Jan 9, 2019
Zach Hankins had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Xavier rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit to defeat visiting Georgetown 81-75 on Wednesday night.
Tyrique Jones added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Xavier (10-7, 2-2 Big East), which had lost two straight, and Naji Marshall scored 13 points.
Hankins converted 10 of 14 from the field as the Musketeers outscored the Hoyas 48-28 in the paint.
Jessie Govan had 27 points and eight rebounds or Georgetown (11-5, 1-2), which lost its second straight game. James Akinjo scored 13 points for the Hoyas and Greg Malinowski added 12.
Marshall's free throws made it 65-58 with 5:34 remaining in the game and the lead toggled between seven and five points -- primarily thanks to Govan and Hankins -- until an offensive foul on Hankins led to two Jamorko Pickett free throws which pulled the Hoyas within 75-72 with 55 seconds left.
Jones and Paul Scruggs hit two free throws apiece before Akinjo's 3-pointer made it 79-75, but Elias Harden's free throw made it 80-75 Xavier with 14 seconds left and Georgetown got no closer.
Xavier has won six in a row against Georgetown
Govan scored seven straight points to cap a 17-2 run that put Georgetown up 28-15.
LeBlanc's dunk with 3:49 remaining gave the Hoyas their biggest lead of the first half, 39-22, but the Musketeers rallied, closing the half with a 12-0 run to pull within 39-34 at intermission.
The Hoyas hit their first six 3-point attempts before finishing 7 of 13 in the first half while Xavier converted 1 of 9 3-pointers.
Xavier continued the run after intermission, scoring the first five points of the second half to tie the score, and Ryan Welage's jumper gave the Musketeers a 61-54 lead at the 9:06 mark.
--Field Level Media