Washington, D.C.  –  Junior guard Jessie Sapp ( New York , N.Y./National Christian Academy [ Md. ]) pulled up with 6.2 seconds left and hit a three-pointer from the top of the key and senior forward Patrick Ewing, Jr. ( Marietta , Ga. /Hargrave Military Academy) blocked a shot at the buzzer as No. 9 Georgetown fought back from a 10-point second half deficit to post a 58-57 win over West Virginia at WVU Coliseum Saturday night.

It was the third-straight win for the Hoyas, who improve to 16-2 overall and 6-1 in the BIG EAST, while WVU falls to 15-5 overall and 4-3 in the league.  The Georgetown win ended a 15-game win West Virginia had in its home arena.

After West Virginia guard Darris Nichols hit one of two free throws with 30 seconds left, giving the Moutaineers a 57-55 lead, Georgetown came down with the ball and as the shot clock wound down, Sapp stopped, put his feet behind the line and sank a three-pointer.  On the final possession, Nichols drove the baseline but his shot was blocked by Ewing as the Hoyas escaped with the win.

Georgetown trailed by as much as 10 points in the second half, 37-27, but used a 14-4 run over a span of 7:56 and tied the game at 41-all on a conventional three-point play from Sapp.  After a three from WVU’s Darris Nichols gave the hosts a 44-41 lead, the Hoyas wrested the lead back after a reserve from sophomore forward DaJuan Summers (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) and a drive from freshman guard Austin Freeman (Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha).

After a tightly-contested first half with three lead changes and one tie, Georgetown took a 25-24 lead in the waning moments of the first half.  The Mountaineers quickly took the lead back on a three from Jamie Smalligan on the opening possession of the half, but a bank from senior forward Roy Hibbert (Adelphi, Md./Georgetown Prep) tied the game at 27-all.  West Virginia followed with a 10-0 run over a span of 1:44, taking a 37-27 lead on a three-pointer from Alex Ruoff.

The Hoyas jumped on top quickly in the first half, using a floater in the lane from Wallace and a Summers layup off a feed from Freeman to take a 4-0 lead.  After a hook shot from Hibbert and a layup from Summers, the lead was 8-4.  West Virginia came back to take a 9-8 lead in the midst of a 10-4 over a span of 5:12, taking a 14-8 lead on a jumper from Alexander.

Georgetown was scoreless for 7:03 span, but got on the board and pulled to within one, 14-13, on a bank shot from sophomore center Vernon Macklin ( Portsmouth , Va. / Hargrave Military Academy ) and a three from Sapp.  A three-pointer from Ewing tied the game at 16-all, but the Mountaineers scored five-straight points to take a 21-16 lead on a Smith layup with 5:34 to play. 

WVU took its biggest lead, 24-18, on a three from Ruoff, but the Hoyas closed the half with a 7-0 run over the final 4:03, taking a 25-24 lead on a jumper from Hibbert jumper with 1:04 to play.  Sapp hit a three and Hibbert hit a pair of free throws to account for the other points in the run.

Sapp scored 15 points to lead Georgetown , while Hibbert had his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Georgetown plays the second of consecutive BIG EAST Conference road games on Wednesday, January 30 in New York City , visiting St. John’s .  Tip-off at Madison Square Garden is slated for 7 p.m.  The game will be shown on MASN and can be heard locally on AM 1260.