The Georgetown football team’s late comeback fell short on homecoming weekend as the team dropped its third straight to Columbia, 23-15 Saturday.

The Hoyas (1-3) had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but the Lions (2-0) recorded a sack on fourth down on the goal line to seal the win and the Lou Little Trophy for the second straight year.

Head Coach Rob Sgarlata felt the Hoyas were close to coming out on top.

“I don’t feel like we lost. We just ran out of time. I wish we could still be out there playing right now,” Sgarlata said in an interview with The Hoya.

Senior receiver Brandon Williams jumpstarted Georgetown’s offense. He caught seven passes for a career-high 121 yards and a touchdown, including a 20-yard over-the-shoulder grab on a fourth down to bring the Hoyas within one possession with five minutes left in the game.

Williams was impressed with the team’s response in the second half.

“I feel like we prepared well. We just said, ‘keep pushing, keep fighting.’ We showed them what we were about in the second half,” Williams said in an interview with The Hoya.

Junior quarterback Gunther Johnson completed 18-of-38 for 228 yards with an interception and a touchdown.

Junior tight end Isaac Schley hauled in four passes for 37 yards and a two-point conversion, while sophomore running back Jay Tolliver carried the ball 12 times for 33 yards and a touchdown. He also picked up key first downs for the Hoyas on their scoring drives.

Senior defensive back and captain Blaise Brown once again led Georgetown’s defense. The senior recorded a career-high 14 tackles, while junior defensive lineman Khristian Tate also had a career-high in tackles with 11, including 3.5 tackles-for-loss and one sack. Sophomore linebacker Owen Kessler recorded 11 tackles as well.

The Hoya defense continued to generate turnovers against the Lions. They totaled three interceptions on the day, as junior defensive back Leon Agee, sophomore linebacker Wes Bowers and sophomore linebacker Xavier Reddick each forced an interception.

Coach Sgarlata praised the effort of his defensive players.

“Our job is to get the ball back to the offense. I thought we fought well all day,” Sgarlata said. “I was impressed with how they kept coming out, I was proud of how they responded especially down early.”

With five minutes to go, Reddick picked off the Columbia quarterback to give Georgetown the ball at midfield with just over five minutes to go.

The offense drove the ball down the field and capped the drive off with a catch and throw to Williams in the corner of the end zone. A stop on the ensuing Columbia drive gave Georgetown another chance to tie the game, but three incompletions and fourth down sack on the goal line halted Georgetown’s second-half comeback.

The Hoyas look to end their losing streak as they go on the road to Providence, R.I. to face Brown in their last nonconference game.