WASHINGTON, D.C. – Georgetown rode an efficient offensive night and strong work on the glass to an 85-73 victory over Villanova in a BIG EAST game Wednesday night at Capital One Arena.
 
Seniors Phil Booth (26 points) and Eric Paschall (16 points) paced the Wildcats, who dropped to 20-7 overall, 11-3 BIG EAST. A total of 10 different Georgetown players scored and seven sank at least one 3-point field goal. Freshman Mac McClung and senior Jessie Govan each scored 21 points to lead the Hoyas.
 
The Hoyas out-rebounded the 'Cats by a 39-33 margin. Villanova was 9-of-38 from beyond the 3-point arc (.237) while Georgetown sank 11-of-28 (.393).
 
"That was a really strong performance by Georgetown," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "They did a great job. McClung did a great job early. I felt like we got good shots early but we couldn't make them. Then McClung got hot.
 
"There were a couple of possessions there where we had a chance to keep them to a two or four point lead and then Govan gets an offensive rebound. There were a lot of little things like that they did a good job of."
 
Georgetown (16-10 overall, 6-7 BIG EAST) jumped out to a 15-8 lead in the game's first six minutes, with McClung and James Akinje sinking a trio of 3-pointers. By the midpoint of the first half, the Hoyas were 11-of-18 from the field (.611) and 4-of-10 from distance to build a 26-19 lead.
 
Booth and Paschall were helping to keep their team in striking distance. The pair teamed up for 17 of the Wildcats first 22 points to narrow the gap to 26-22 at the U8 break in the first half.
 
But the Hoyas used the interior work of Govan and the perimeter shooting of McClung to stretch the margin to 34-26 at the 3:45 mark of the first half. Georgetown's work on the backboards – it owned a 14-8 rebounding advantage at that stage of the contest supplemented a 12-8 edge on points in the paint.
 
An 8-0 run by the Hoyas late in the period pushed the lead to 42-28 with 1:06 to play. The Wildcats scored the final four points of the half to shave the deficit to 42-32 at the break.
 
Booth supplied 15 points in the first 20 minutes for VU while Paschall added eight points. McClung, meanwhile, had 17 first half points for the Hoyas, who connected on 15-of-29 (.517) from the field while the 'Cats were 11-of-28 (.393).
 
 "You've got to give Georgetown credit for making a lot of the little plays – loose balls, offensive rebounds," noted Wright.
 
"We had a few lapses," stated Booth of the Villanova defense. "McClung got going and Govan got it going. There were a couple of lapses here and there and they're a real good team. That's what happens when you have those against a real good team."
 
 The Wildcats were able to string together a series of defensive stops early in the second period and got to within seven points but Georgetown's Govan answered inside with six points. After the senior sank a free throw at the 15:48, the Hoyas lead was restored to 10, 50-40.
 
 Georgetown then went on an 8-0 burst, capped by a Govan 3-pointer, to build their biggest lead of the night, 58-43. There was 13:11 on the clock.
 
 Villanova kept battling but couldn't solve the riddle of the glass. That helped the Hoyas gain an 11-1 advantage in second chance points and generate extra possessions.
 
 The Hoyas moved in front 73-54 with 5:05 to play. The Wildcats generated some stops with pressure but in the end it wasn't enough to surmount the deficit. The final count favored Georgetown 85-73.
 
On Sunday Villanova visits Xavier at 1:30 p.m. at the Cintas Center (CBS and 610 Sports Radio) in its next action on the BIG EAST schedule.