Wright, Freeman lead balanced attack; defense carries No. 13 Georgetown past DePaul

Wright, Freeman lead Hoyas over DePaul

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Chris Wright scored 18 points, Austin Freeman had 17, and No. 13 Georgetown used its typically tough defense to beat DePaul 67-50 on Sunday.

Georgetown (11-1, 2-0) led by 10 at halftime and then pulled away. The Hoyas entered having allowed 58 points per game and they gave up only 25 in each half to the struggling Blue Demons.

DePaul (7-7, 0-2) was led by Mac Koshwal’s 16 points.

It was Georgetown’s ninth straight victory over the Blue Demons. DePaul has lost 21 straight Big East regular-season games, dating to March 2008.

DePaul had whittled an 11-point deficit to two before the Hoyas scored the final eight points of the half for a 35-25 lead. Wright hit a 3-pointer as he was falling down with about 8 seconds left, capping the run.

Georgetown built the lead to 13 in the second half, holding DePaul to two baskets in the first 5 minutes. When Hollis Thompson got inside for a basket and Freeman made a 3-pointer on a nice pass from Wright, Georgetown was up 49-34 with 9:27 left.

Moments later, Wright caught the Blue Demons napping on an inbounds pass and hit a layup to push the lead to 17.

DePaul made a mini-run to cut it to 11 with just under 4 minutes left, but Freeman hit a 3-pointer. The Blue Demons didn’t get closer.

Greg Monroe had seven points, and Wright and Jason Clark made 3-pointers in a 13-2 spurt that put the Hoyas ahead by 11 midway through the first half.

Koshwal had 12 first-half points, and his strong play on the inside against the tough Hoyas’ defense kept the Blue Demons close. It was the 6-foot-10 Koshwal’s third game back after missing eight because of a foot injury.