Primo Spears scored 21 points to help Georgetown snap its record 29-game conference losing streak with an 81-76 win over DePaul on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Akok Akok and Brandon Murray each chipped in 12 points and Qudus Wahab contributed nine points and 10 boards for the Hoyas (6-15, 1-9 Big East), who earned their first league win since March 2, 2021, when they beat Xavier 72-66.
Umoja Gibson finished with 24 points on 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) shooting, Javan Johnson added 13 points and Da’Sean Nelson had nine points off the bench for the Blue Demons (9-12, 3-7), who had their three-game win streak against the Hoyas snapped.
Georgetown made seven of its first 11 field-goal attempts of the second half to flip a 37-36 deficit into a 55-46 lead with 12:44 remaining as DePaul battled foul trouble with four of their starters logging at least three personals.
The Blue Demons battled back with a 12-2 push to take a one-point lead entering the under-eight timeout. Both sides jostled for a cushion until Akok Akok drilled a corner three to put the Hoyas ahead 65-60 with 5:29 to play.
Johnson answered with a triple to trim Georgetown’s lead to two, but Spears’ jumper with 4:44 remaining ignited a 10-0 surge that gave the Hoyas their largest lead of the night at 75-63 with 1:39 to play.
Georgetown missed a handful of free throws down the stretch as DePaul crept to within 79-76 with 8 seconds left, but Spears drained two free throws with 4 seconds to play to seal it.
The Hoyas were in the bonus just 7:07 into the half, reached the double bonus with 6:09 to play and went 20 of 29 from the foul line in the second period. They made 27 free throws on 41 attempts overall, both season-highs.
The Blue Demons, who entered Tuesday’s contest shooting 78 percent from the line, shot just 11 of 19 (57.9 percent) and committed 12 turnovers compared to the Hoyas’ seven.
The Hoyas made five of six shots through a three-minute stretch in the first half to take a 21-16 lead before the Blue Demons responded with an 8-0 run bookended by threes from Gibson and Philmon Gebrewhit to pull ahead 24-21 with 6:48 left before the half.
Georgetown parried with an extended 15-6 stretch that featured scores from four different players to go ahead 36-30, but Gibson’s second 3-pointer of the half capped a 7-0 counterpunch that put the Blue Demons ahead 37-36 at the half.
–Field Level Media
