With just over eight minutes left in the second half, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team’s chances at winning Feb. 24 appeared to be dwindling. After DePaul forward Da’Sean Nelson threw down a slam to put his team up by 4, it seemed as though the home team was set to complete the comeback that had been looming for most of the second half. 

However, Georgetown (9-19, 2-15 Big East), No. 10 in the Big East, fought back to take a slim 77-76 win against fellow bottom-of-the-pack rival DePaul (3-24, 0-16 Big East). Multiple clutch trips to the free throw line down the stretch helped seal the Hoyas’ second conference victory of the season. 

Georgetown was excellent to start the contest. Sophomore guard Jayden Epps opened up the scoring by hitting a spectacular 3-point attempt, more of a runner than a jump shot, and senior guard Wayne Bristol Jr. followed up by turning defense into offense with a swift steal and score to put the Hoyas up 5-0 early. However, DePaul responded quickly with a dunk of their own. 

The game continued to go back and forth for the next few minutes of the first half, but the Hoyas began to pull away about midway through the half. Epps assisted Bristol Jr. for a layup to put the Hoyas up 23-12. DePaul responded quickly with a made layup and 3-pointer, but Epps struck back, draining a 3 of his own to maintain Georgetown’s control of the game. 

The Hoyas never looked back for the rest of the first half. Baskets from Epps and first-year guard Rowan Brumbaugh, as well as strong rebounding from senior center Supreme Cook, powered them to a 41-28 lead upon entering the locker room.

Unfortunately for the Hoyas, the Blue Demons’ halftime team talk seemed to have been more effective than theirs. DePaul came out flying, scoring 11 points in the first three minutes of second-half play. Brumbaugh and Epps attempted to maintain the Hoya lead as best as they could, but Georgetown was unable to cool off the hot hands of DePaul. Five minutes into the second half, the Hoyas’ 13-point halftime advantage had dwindled to just 1. 

After the game became tied at 49 thanks to a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from DePaul guard Jalen Terry, junior forward Dontrez Styles drilled a timely 3-pointer to restore the Hoyas’ lead with just over 12 minutes left to play. However, DePaul once again came right back down on the next possession and found an open layup to cut the lead back down to 1. 

After the teams traded baskets over the next few possessions, the Blue Demons were up by 4 with about eight minutes left to play. DePaul seemed to have completed their comeback, and Georgetown appeared not to have done enough to weather the storm and win the game. 

However, the resilient Hoyas clawed their way back, as senior guard Jay Heath stepped smoothly into a 3 to tie the game at 68 with just four minutes left in the game. Yet, DePaul would not be deterred, taking back a slim, 1-point lead with just 26 seconds remaining. 

But with just eight seconds left in the game, Epps was fouled with the Hoyas down by 76-75. As expected, Epps calmly and confidently stepped to the line and sank the free throws, despite the hostile Chicago crowd’s attempts to distract him. 

After DePaul failed to convert a layup attempt on the final possession, the Hoyas had survived a major scare and were able to leave Chicago with a win under their belt.

Epps stuffed the stat sheet, contributing 33 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds on 50% shooting from the field en route to a Big East honor roll nomination. Brumbaugh also contributed significantly, adding 14 points, while Cook took care of business on the glass, finishing with 11 rebounds and 6 points.

The Hoyas next dropped a disappointing 75-47 effort to a Villanova (16-12, 9-8 Big East) side and will seek a third conference win in their return home to Capital One against Xavier (13-14, 7-9 Big East) on March 2.