WASHINGTON, DC – A quick 12-point spurt midway through the second half proved to be the difference as BIG EAST foe Georgetown rallied past Siena Basketball 75-68 at Capital One Arena. Jackson Stormo scored a season-high 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the Saints who came up a little short in their bid for a third high-major win in as many weeks.
 
Brandon Murray led four players in double figures with 20 points for Georgetown (5-5), while Primo Spears added 18 points on 7-11 shooting to go along with eight assists. Jay Heath scored 16 points and Qudus Wahab posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Hoyas who held decided advantages in both points in the paint (38-24) and fast break points (18-2).
 
Siena (5-4, 1-0) came out gunning in search of adding another signature win to their resume. The Saints connected for four threes before the first media timeout, highlighted by a perfect 3-3 from distance by Andrew Platek. Meanwhile Georgetown shot 55% in the first half to claim a 37-36 lead at the break. Siena hung tight despite shooting just 32% in the first half, maximizing six threes – four of which came from Platek who scored all 12 of his points in the opening stanza – while also harboring a +7 rebound margin fueled by 11 offensive rebounds.
 
While Platek was the story of the first half for the Saints, Stormo was the story of the second half. Stormo, who scored a career-high 25 points in last year's meeting against the Hoyas, scored 15 of his points in the final stanza on a perfect 5-5 shooting. He delivered back-to-back three-point plays to kickstart a quick 8-0 run to put Siena back in front 56-50 with 10:46 to go.
 
But Georgetown immediately responded with their decisive 12-0 flurry spanning just 95 seconds to reclaim the lead for good at 62-56 with 8:56 remaining. The Saints got back within as close as three on a Stormo basket with 3:18 left, but the Hoyas scored the next five points in crunch time to hold on.
 
Javian McCollum rounded out the double figure scorers with 12 points for Siena which has now dropped 25 straight true road games against high-major opponents.
 
The Saints return to the region Sunday for another tough matchup when they take on defending CAA Tournament Champion Delaware at 2 p.m.