January 24, 2015 - Despite giving up regrettable shooting marks, enduring injuries and relying on a previously little used guard, Georgetown's Hoyas defeated Marquette on the road, 95-85 in Milwaukee's BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, taking overtime to do it. G'Town now sits atop the BIG EAST Conference with a 14-5 record overall, standing 6-2 in-league. The Golden Eagles (10-9, 2-5) are ninth in the BIG EAST.

The Hoyas led 45-39 at the half, despite giving up four three pointers to post graduate guard Matt Carlino, all coming within the first four and a half minutes. His effectiveness dwindled as the stanza progressed, in part due to the attention paid him by senior Hoya swingman Aaron Bowen (11 points). Nevertheless Marquette finished the game shooting 52% from beyond the arc, nearly 51% overall.

If Carlino was hot, call Georgetown's D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera en fuego, dropping in five long balls in the first half. For the game, the junior guard accounted for a team high 19 points.

Coming into the game Georgetown fretted about Marquette's zone defenses. After the first half, their shooting number stood at 58% from the field, with Smith-Rivera accounting for all five of their twelve makes beyond the arc. G'Town logged 50% overall shooting for the game while sinking 42.9% of their three balls.

Nine points off turnovers might have saved G'Town's bacon in the first half, as the Golden Eagles shot a whopping 63% for the stanza. Chalk advantages in rebounding (14 to 10), dimes (11 to 8), a Hoya plus in bench points of 18-11 and fewer Hoya turnovers (four to seven) as other reasons for their intermission lead.

Freshman forward Paul White started the second half with a three, but Marquette scored nine points, seven straight from freshman guard Duane Wilson to tie the game at 48 with 17:12 remaining. A John Thompson III timeout ensued.

Wilson, who along with Carlino scored a game high 26 points and would be a thorn in the Hoyas' side all day long, going six of eight from three point land, his biggest long ball being a contested leaner that swished through with 24 seconds remaining, knotting the game at 79.

After senior center Joshua Smith's two free throws, enter Marquette's Carlino; with 5.2 seconds on the clock, Carlino received the ball and raced down the clock, sinking a shot at the three point line. A long review process as the clock was stuck on .9 seconds upheld the referee's initial two point shot ruling. Carlino was not done, stealing Georgetown's subsequent inbounds pass, but rimming the shot.

Bad miss - Overtime was Blue and Grey time, as head coach John Thompson III's squad outscored Marquette 14-4 in extra time. Smith-Rivera sank his four overtime foul shots and freshman guard Tre Campbell (14 points, four rebounds in 28 minutes) came off the bench to produce five points in bonus action, including a huge three pointer with just 52 clicks of the clock left in the extra period.

He would also make both of his free throws in OT, adding to a strong charity stripe performance for G'Town: The Hoyas made 11 of 12 free throws in overtime, 28-32 (87.5%) for the game. Senior forward/center Mikael Hopkins led the way, going 11-12 from the line - he's been hovering around 50% on such shots for the season, but has really turned it on as of late. Hopkins finished with 13 points and five rebounds.

Isaac Copeland poured in 17 points, the second such consecutive point production from him, also pulling down six boards. The HoyaReport.com Man-of -the-Game award goes to senior center Joshua Smith for not only scoring 18 points, but pacing the game with 15 caroms. He was a load while playing a season high 31 minutes, helping to limit Marquette's seven foot sophomore Luke Fischer to seven points and four rebounds before fouling out with just five seconds remaining in regulation.

Fischer's absence impacted both the Golden Eagles' strategy - they couldn't go inside, had trouble protecting the paint, cleaning the glass was hampered - and an already short player rotation shrunk since head coach Steve Wojciechowski has less than nine scholarship players available.

Conversely the Hoyas's depth allowed them to withstand roster reductions; starting guard L.J. Peak played just five minutes, one in the second half, after spraining his left ankle. White battled and was lost to fouls with just 68 seconds to play. Starting wingman Jabril Trawick only played ten minutes. Collectively that trio accounted for just three points, all by via White.

Thompson's bunch now head back to D.C., to rest and prepare for Xavier, Tuesday's visitor. Tip-off is 7p EST. Click here for tickets.

Marquette hosts sagging Seton Hall Wednesday, a 6p CST start.