Georgetown pulls into third place in Big East with win over Xavier

Don’t look now, but the Georgetown Hoyas are suddenly all alone in third place in the Big East.

Georgetown accomplished the feat by taking down the Xavier Musketeers, 80-73, at Capital One Arena in Thursday’s lone Big East game.

Georgetown’s freshmen led the way on Thursday night, with 51 of the Hoyas 80 points coming from James Akinjo (game-high 23), Josh LeBlanc (17), and Mac McClung (11).

The first half was all Xavier, with the Musketeers going to the locker room with a 36-28 lead as it looked like it would be a long night for the Hoyas, but as the second half began, Georgetown chipped away and grabbed the lead about halfway through. They would relinquish it briefly, but remained in control for most of the night.

Naji Marshall led the Musketeers with 16 points. Xavier has now lost four straight games and are currently tied with Butler and DePaul for last place in the Big East. The Musketeers will look to snap the cold spell on Sunday when they head to Omaha to face Creighton. Georgetown will also be in action Sunday as they head to the Wells Fargo Center to face the 8-0 Villanova Wildcats.