The Georgetown Hoyas overcame a sluggish start to win their first conference game of the year, beating DePaul 86-75. The Hoyas improve to .500 in conference play, while the Blue Demons drop to 0-2 in the Big East for the third straight season.

The game was sloppy in the early going, with both teams turning the ball over and missing layups. The Hoyas led by seven at half time.

The Hoyas led the contest from start to finish, but were never able to pull away from DePaul. Every time it looked as though the Hoyas were ready to push the game out of reach, the Blue Demons put together a run to close the gap. It was the Georgetown defense that helped turn the tide. The Hoyas held DePaul without a field goal for over five minutes, going on a 14-4 run over that span to push out to a 15 point lead with under two minutes to play.

Austin Freeman and Jason Clark each had 21 points for the Hoyas, and Chris Wright added 17 points and seven assists. Cleveland Melvin led all scorers with 29 points, and Tony Freeland added 24 points for the Blue Demons in the losing effort.

Georgetown now has a quick turnaround, traveling to New York to take on the St. John’s Red Storm. The game is scheduled for Monday at 7 PM.