On Sunday night, the Georgetown Hoyas men’s basketball team (3-4, 1-2 Big East) fell to the St. John’s Red Storm (6-4, 1-3 Big East), 94-83 at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, New York. The Hoyas split their regular season games with St. John’s, having won the first matchup last Sunday at McDonough Arena. Senior guard Jahvon Blair and graduate student guard Donald Carey contributed 25 and 19 points, respectively, for Georgetown. For the Red Storm, junior guard Greg Williams Jr. scored a game-high 26 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep. The Red Storm had a productive day from beyond the arc, shooting 44.8% (13-of-20) on 3-pointers.
“We missed open shots and we couldn’t get any stops on the other end,” said Georgetown Head Coach Patrick Ewing following the loss. “When they can make 13 threes that means we’re not defending the 3-point line.”
The Hoyas started off the game hot, with Carey and freshman guard Dante Harris nailing threes in the early going. However, free throws from Williams Jr. and triples from sophomore forward Julian Champagnie and junior forward Vince Cole brought the Red Storm back quickly. At the under-16 timeout, both teams were shooting well (combined 9-of-14) with the score tied 12-12. Out of the break, Champagnie and Williams Jr. both nailed triples, then Champagnie converted a contested layup to put St. John’s squad up by eight quickly and force a timeout from Georgetown Head Coach Patrick Ewing.
St. John’s continued to control the game until the under-16 timeout, extending a 12-2 run into a 24-14 lead. This run coincided with an 0-of-4 stretch from deep for Georgetown. A 3-pointer from Blair and a fastbreak lay-in by graduate forward Chudier Bile stopped that run, pulling the Hoyas within 24-19. St. John’s continued to have free reign on offense, however, building their lead back up to 39-23 on a flurry of deep makes. The Hoyas got some of that back with free throws by sophomore center Qudus Wahab and Blair, but St. John’s just continued to be hot from deep as Williams Jr. sunk another triple. Georgetown regained some life toward the end of the half, with a successful and-one play from Wahab and three triples by Carey. Going into halftime, St. John’s led 49-41, aided greatly by their 52.6% (10-of-19) shooting from deep.
The Hoyas started slow out of the half, as senior forward Jamorko Pickett was quickly fouled on a shot but missed both free throws, followed by Dante Harris committing two turnovers in quick succession. A huge dunk from Pickett seemed to give the squad a jolt and began a run for Georgetown that got them within two points. St. John’s offense would quickly punch back though, with makes from Williams Jr. and junior forward Marcellus Earlington, to put the Red Storm back up by eight. St. John’s then went on a 16-3 run, quelling any hopes of a Georgetown comeback. The Hoyas would not cut the deficit to single digits for the final 11:30 of the game.
The Hoyas sorely missed scoring output from Pickett, whom they have relied on for points this season. Despite pulling down 11 rebounds, Pickett scored just six points, shooting just 2-of-12 from the field and 0-of-2 from the free throw line. In addition, Harris had just five points on 2-of-7 shooting after scoring 22 points in last week’s matchup against the Red Storm.
Georgetown will head to Newark, NJ on Wednesday, looking for a bounceback victory against Seton Hall (5-4, 2-1 Big East). Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at the Prudential Center.
Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for live coverage and coverage of all sports on the Hilltop.
