CINCINNATI -- Coming off the toughest three-game stretch in program history, which resulted in three straight losses, No. 22 Xavier badly needed a win on Sunday against Georgetown.

Banged up point guard Edmond Sumner and the Musketeers outmuscled the Hoyas to snap their skid.

Trevon Bluiett scored 24 points and J.P. Macura added 20 as Xavier avoided its longest losing streak in 17 years with an 86-75 victory over Georgetown on Sunday afternoon at Cintas Center.

Sumner wore a brace on his sore left shoulder and had 14 points and seven assists with just one turnover. Late in the first half, Sumner sat on the bench in obvious pain but came back to deliver a strong second-half performance.

"Tough as nails," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "He was really locked in on what I was asking him to do: get teammates shots, rebound the ball, play fast and with pace. He's been a warrior these past few weeks. He just wants to win."

The victory helped Xavier (14-5, 4-3 Big East) avoid its first four-game losing streak since the 1999-2000 season heading into Thursday's annual meeting with crosstown rival Cincinnati. The three previous losses came against No. 1 Villanova, No. 13 Butler and No. 7 Creighton.

"Damn, it feels good to win," Mack said. "I think our team has done a really good job coming to practice with energy. You feel an inordinate amount of pressure because we'[re used to winning. The schedule doesn't get any easier."

Xavier outrebounded Georgetown 36-21, including 11-1 on the offensive end. The Musketeers were 36 of 49 from the free throw line.

"Free throw line and rebounding. Those two areas," Hoyas coach John Thompson III said. "We were getting paint touches and were throwing the ball in there. They did a good job defending us in there."

Georgetown (10-10, 1-6) shot just 32.7 percent from the field and went 5 of 23 from 3-point range in a 74-56 loss to Providence on Monday.

The Hoyas found their stroke against the Musketeers, shooting 53.8 percent from the floor and 40 percent from beyond the arc to keep the score close for a while.

Rodney Pryor led Georgetown with 23 points and L.J. Peak added 12.

Xavier went nearly eight minutes without a field goal in the first half, but free throws kept the Musketeers in the game. They were in the bonus with 12:03 left in the half and went 12 of 19 from the free-throw line to take a 34-33 lead into halftime.

Peak, the reigning Big East player of the week, didn't have a field goal until 2:02 remained in the first half. He had five points at halftime.

Malcolm Bernard hit a 3-pointer to put Xavier ahead 30-28 late in the half. He had seven points in the first half and Macura led the Musketeers with nine.

Xavier committed 47 turnovers in the previous three games and they were sloppy at times on Sunday. The Musketeers shot just 38.5 percent from the field and committed seven turnovers in the first half.

Georgetown had six players with two fouls by halftime.

Xavier came out of the locker room on fire.

The Musketeers hit their first five shots, including two by Macura, to turn their one-point halftime lead into a 48-38 lead only 2:35 into the second half.

"Nobody likes to lose three games in a row, or lose at all," Macura said. "This will help us going into Thursday (at Cincinnati)."

Kaiser Gates hit a wide-open 3-pointer to put Xavier ahead 52-40.

Georgetown responded with a 9-0 run, including two jumpers by Jessie Govan, to get back within three.

The Musketeers had another scoring drought for more than six minutes, allowing Georgetown to cut its deficit to 55-54.

Pryor's reverse layup tied the score 58-58 with nine minutes left.

But Xavier was too much for Georgetown down the stretch. Bluiett's jumper resulting in a three-point play put the Musketeers ahead 68-61.

Bernard's 3-pointer with 2:14 left made it 77-66. Bernard scored 12 points, his Xavier career high.

The Musketeers went 24 of 30 from the free-throw line in the second half to seal the victory.

"What we do best is sharing the ball, playing defense, and staying locked in," Bernard said. "We wanted to get back to winning. Everyone knows Xavier wins."

NOTES: Xavier G Myles Davis announced Friday that he has left the program. Davis, the team's third-leading scorer and assists leader last season, played in three games after a 15-game suspension resulting from an offseason incident involving his ex-girlfriend. ... Hoyas G L.J. Peak was named Big East Conference player of the week after averaging 18.5 points in two games last week. ... Xavier leads the series 11-4, including wins in six of the past seven meetings. The Musketeers are 7-2 against the Hoyas since the teams became Big East rivals.