Austin Freeman and Jason Clark scored 21 points each and No. 9 Georgetown pulled away from a stubborn DePaul team for an 86-75 victory Saturday afternoon in the Big East opener for both schools.

Trailing but within striking distance throughout the first half, DePaul got within one, 51-50, on a Jimmy Drew layup with 14:09 to go. Drew fouled Georgetown's Chris Wright on a 3-point attempt at the other end, though, and the Hoyas were able to remain on top the rest of the way. Eight straight points stretched the margin to 68-57 with 8:17 left, and the Blue Demons never threatened again.

Georgetown (12-2, 1-1 Big East) shot 54.4 percent from the field and held DePaul to 1-of-8 shooting from 3-point range, making up for the Blue Demons' advantages in rebounding (37-33) and bench scoring (28-11).

Wright added 17 points and eight assists for the Hoyas. Cleveland Melvin and Tony Freeland led DePaul (6-8, 0-2) with 29 and 24 points, respectively.