Georgetown men’s basketball (12-5, 3-3 BIG EAST) lost to the St. John’s Red Storm (15-3, 6-1 BIG EAST) 63-58 on Jan. 14 at Madison Square Garden. In one of the Hoyas’ last chances to pick up a marquee win, they once again could not hang on to a double-digit lead, turning the ball over 19 times as a team.
In a game that both teams needed to perform well in, each side gave their best punch. For Georgetown, it represented a chance to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive and avoid a three-game skid. For the Red Storm, they needed this game in order to keep pace with Marquette and UConn for a potential BIG EAST regular season title.
The start of this game set the tone for the Hoyas offensively, turning the ball over on each of their first three possessions. Their defense remained stout though, only allowing two points for St. John’s in response. At this point, the Hoya offense found a way to quell the turnovers for a moment to go on a 17-1 run to take command of the game into the midway point of the first half, with graduate guard Micah Peavy and sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. playing key roles.
From that point on, the teams battled to a near draw. Every time the Johnnies threatened to pull themselves back into the game, Peavy, Williams or sophomore guard Malik Mack came up with a bucket or two on the other end to keep the Georgetown advantage. A big help in this half for the Hoyas was that they dominated the board early, mounting a 26-10 lead on the boards by halftime. The turnovers kept coming for the Hoyas, though, and it was a group effort that led Georgetown into the half with 10 team turnovers. This is normal for the Hoyas, as they entered the day 295th in the country in turnover rate at 19.5 percent. If you want to win on the road and pull off the upset as a 9.5 point underdog, turning the ball over is not a great recipe.
By halftime the score was 37-27 in favor of Georgetown. Peavy led the game with 11 points at the break, Williams Jr. had 9, and junior guard RJ Luis Jr. led the Red Storm with 9 points of his own. The Hoya defense had largely controlled the dangerous St John’s offense, primarily through freshman forward Thomas Sorber in the paint, holding the Johnnies to 34 percent from the field in the first half. But after starting the game, junior guard Jayden Epps did not return to the court for the Hoyas in the second half, coming out of the locker room back in his warm up clothes.
While the Hoya faithful may have felt optimistic at half, it is also true that the Johnnies are one of the best second half teams in the country, and it showed coming out of the break. After a 4-0 run to re-extend the Hoyas’ lead to 14 points, the Red Storm mounted a 19-2 run spanning just six minutes of game time to take their first lead since the score stood at 2-0, at 44-43, with Luis Jr. and graduate guard Kadary Richmond leading the way.
With momentum firmly on the Red Storm’s side and MSG rocking, the Hoyas, led by Peavy, made a key 7-0 run to retake the lead and stop the game from getting out of reach. But with just under 10 minutes to play in the game, Sorber picked up 2 quick fouls to bring him to 4 for the game, putting the Hoyas’ defense in a tough spot. He only went to the bench for a short spell, however, before returning to the game with no fouls to give. With 4:41 to go, Sorber appeared to injure his left arm, and was immediately escorted to the locker room with the Red Storm up 52-50.
With just under four minutes to play, and the Johnnies in the double bonus, they used the free throw line again and again to go on a 10-2 run and pull ahead by four points. Not only that, but they also brought the rebound margin to only 39-36 in Georgetown’s favor. A critical Mack three stemmed the Johnnies’ momentum and pulled the Hoyas back within a point. A response from distance by St. John’s sophomore guard Simeon Wilcher and a travel by Peavy on the ensuing possession put the Hoyas on the brink of defeat with less than two minutes to go.
With 69 seconds to play and the deficit at 3, Sorber returned to the game. Unfortunately for the Hoyas, it did not matter, as the St. John’s defense stiffened up with the game on the line, preventing a Georgetown comeback and winning 63-58, holding the Hoyas to just 21 points in the entire second half. Peavy led the game with 21 points, and Luis Jr. led the Johnnies with 19, as the Red Storm won despite 35 percent shooting from the field, 33 percent shooting from three, and 68 percent from the charity stripe as a team. Three of Georgetown’s starters finished the game in foul trouble.
Next up, the Hoyas will look to stop their three game skid, coming home on Jan. 17 to take on the DePaul Blue Demons (9-9, 0-7 BIG EAST) at 8:00 p.m. at Capital One Arena. The game will be broadcast on CBSSN. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
