First place in the Big East was there for the taking for DePaul on Tuesday night.
But the Blue Demons’ bid for their best start since joining the league fell short as D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored a game-high 25 points to lead Georgetown to a 78-72 victory at Allstate Arena.
The Hoyas went on a 13-3 run to break a 57-57 tie over a span of nearly three minutes — including 7-for-7 on free throws — to open a 70-60 lead with 3 minutes, 34 seconds to play.
“Late in the second half we turned the ball over three times and took two bad shots,” Blue Demons coach Oliver Purnell said. “That was the critical stretch. … Give Georgetown credit because they made their free throws and made some big shots.”
The Blue Demons rallied and twice cut the deficit to four points in the final 45 seconds but could get no closer.
Myke Henry scored 17 points and Billy Garrett Jr. had 16 while Jamee Crockett and Aaron Simpson added 12 and 11, respectively, as DePaul (9-9, 3-2 Big East) suffered its second straight loss.
Henry said Georgetown (11-5, 3-2) seized the advantage in the late going.
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“It was just effort. They wanted it a little more than us, than we did,” he said. “They won the 50-50 balls and we didn’t. We were just hanging around looking.”
Georgetown grabbed the first half advantage as Jabril Trawick scored 11 first half points and Smith-Rivera had nine as the Hoyas opened a 44-39 lead.
Henry scored a game-high 13 first half points to lead DePaul.
The Blue Demons came into the game sharing a four-way tie for the conference lead with Villanova, Seton Hall and Providence, each with three victories.
The Hoyas now own an outsized 24-7 all-time series lead. DePaul broke a 14-game losing streak against them with a 60-56 triumph in the first round of last year’s Big East tournament.
DePaul’s elevated spot was a refreshing switch for a program that has stumbled through seven straight losing Big East campaigns and has had no more than three victories in any season since 2008-09.
Last year, DePaul didn’t get its third victory until Feb. 25, 2014 at home against Seton Hall.