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Georgetown edges William & Mary 28-27 on a late touchdown pass

Gavin Beard found Hassan Mahasin for a 10-yard score with 38 seconds left, lifting the Hoyas to a one-point road win at Walter J. Zable Stadium.

Georgetown needed every second of it. Gavin Beard hit Hassan Mahasin on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 38 seconds remaining Saturday, and the Hoyas escaped Walter J. Zable Stadium with a 28-27 win over William & Mary to improve to 3-4 on the year.

It was that kind of game. The Hoyas led for most of it, lost the lead in the fourth quarter, then took it back at the last possible moment.

Beard was the story. The Georgetown quarterback finished 21 of 36 for 265 yards and four touchdowns against one interception. He had his team in front early, connecting with Samir Crosby on a 30-yard strike in the first quarter and then finding Jonathan Alexander for 41 yards before halftime to put the Hoyas up 14-7 at the break.

Alexander was Beard's favorite target all afternoon, finishing with four catches for 124 yards.

Georgetown pushed it to 21-7 midway through the third quarter when Beard threaded an 8-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Grimes. William & Mary answered fast. Khylil Johnson hauled in a 52-yard score from Winston Watkins just over two minutes later, and suddenly it was a game again.

The Tribe kept chipping. Max Lipinski split the uprights from 32 yards in the fourth quarter, then added a 22-yarder with five minutes left. That gave William & Mary a 27-21 lead and left Georgetown needing a touchdown drive with the clock running out.

They got one.

Beard moved the Hoyas down the field and found Mahasin with 38 seconds on the clock. Thomas Anderson's extra point was good, and Georgetown had its margin.

William & Mary fell to 3-5. Watkins struggled all day, completing just 11 of 24 passes for 149 yards while throwing three interceptions. Andrew King gave the Tribe a quick jolt, taking a handoff 68 yards for a score on the game's first possession, but the offense never found a consistent rhythm after that.

King finished with 96 rushing yards on 11 carries. It was not enough.

Mahasin's catch with the clock nearly gone was the final blow.