Hoyas withstand second-half surge
Georgetown held on for an 85-78 victory over Clemson on Friday night, preserving an unbeaten start after the Hoyas gave away nearly all of a sizeable first-half advantage. The result moved Georgetown to 4-0 and marked the program’s first 4-0 opening since the 2017-18 season, when the team began 8-0 before finishing that campaign with a 15-15 record.
Jaland Lowe was Georgetown’s leading scorer with 21 points and added five assists. Vince Iwuchukwu supplied 18 points while shooting 7-for-9 from the field and collected 10 rebounds. Elmarko Jackson scored 17 points, including a decisive contribution late in the game, while Josiah Parker added 11.
The Hoyas established control during a dominant opening stretch at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum. Georgetown scored 18 consecutive points to build a 16-point lead with 9:34 remaining in the first half. Jackson then extended the margin with a three-pointer roughly three and a half minutes later, giving the visitors their largest lead at 41-22.
Georgetown remained in front early in the second half when Lowe converted a layup 43 seconds after the intermission, pushing the advantage back to 15 points. Clemson then began to chip away. The Tigers scored 16 of the next 21 points and reduced the deficit to 54-50 with 13:18 remaining.
Clemson briefly takes the lead
The comeback continued as Cole Certa’s layup with 6:23 left put Clemson ahead 66-64. Georgetown responded with a 10-1 run, during which Jackson scored eight points, to regain command. Lowe then scored nine points over the final 2:34, helping the Hoyas close out the contest and avoid a damaging collapse after leading by as many as 19.
Clemson was led by Ace Buckner, who finished with 20 points. Certa scored 14, Liutauras Lelevicius had 10, and Dallas Thomas and Dylan Faulkner each contributed nine. The Tigers, who entered the game at 3-0, fell to 3-1 after failing to complete their second-half recovery.
| Team | Final record | Top scorer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown | 4-0 | Jaland Lowe | 21 |
| Clemson | 3-1 | Ace Buckner | 20 |
What the result means
The victory gives Georgetown an early four-game winning streak and establishes the team’s best start since its 2017-18 opening run. The contest also showed both sides of the Hoyas’ performance: Georgetown built a substantial cushion through its first-half scoring burst, then relied on late production from Jackson and Lowe after Clemson moved in front.
The key developments from the game included:
- Georgetown improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2017-18.
- Lowe recorded 21 points and five assists, including nine points in the final 2:34.
- Iwuchukwu posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
- Clemson erased a 19-point deficit before Georgetown regained the lead and finished the game.
Georgetown’s next game is scheduled for Wednesday against Navy. Clemson will return to Littlejohn Coliseum on Monday to face The Citadel. The result leaves the Hoyas with an opportunity to build on their best opening mark in nearly a decade, while Clemson will try to respond after its first loss of the season.
