Caleb Williams scored 18 points and Georgetown used a decisive second-half run to end a two-game losing streak to beat UMBC 90-81 on Wednesday night in Washington, D.C.
KJ Lewis had 17 and Julius Halaifonua added 16 as the Hoyas recovered from a poor showing at the ESPN Events Invitational over the Thanksgiving holiday to remain undefeated at home.
Georgetown (6-2) went on a 19-2 run early in the second half to take control of a surprisingly tight game to that point and go up 64-43 with 14:33 remaining. Malik Mack scored a layup and knocked down a 3-pointer and assisted on buckets by Lewis and Isaiah Abraham. Mack finished with 15 points and seven assists while Abraham scored 11 as the Hoyas shot 56.3% (36 of 64).
Georgetown finished with a season-best 11 3-pointers and shot 47.8% for the game. The Hoyas began the night shooting a Big East-worst 28.4% from deep on the season. Four Hoyas knocked down multiple 3-pointers, led by Mack’s three.
Jah’Likai King led UMBC (5-3) with 19 points. Caden Diggs added 13 and Daylon Dickerson scored 12 as the Retrievers shot 48.4% from the field (30 of 62).
Georgetown jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on a layup by Lewis with 17:19 left in the half. UMBC missed its first four shots from the field but got on the board with a jumper by King.
Diggs scored eight straight for the Retrievers and brought UMBC back to within four at 24-20 with 7:56 left in the half on his second 3-pointer. Diggs finished the half with 10.
Georgetown took its largest lead of the first half at 43-32 on a layup by Williams with 1:39 remaining. Georgetown led 45-37 at the half but couldn’t pull away as both teams were hot from the field.
UMBC made 10 of its final 13 shots before the break and finished shooting 53.6% while Georgetown shot 58.8% in the opening half.
