Charles Nailen/The Hoya Sophomore guard Brandon Bowman fights through the tough Panther defense for a shot in the Hoyas’ 68-58 loss on Tuesday.

It took the embarrassment of a loss to St. John’s to get Georgetown to play its best basketball of the season.

Against defending national champion Syracuse on Saturday and No. 3 Pittsburgh (25-2, 11-2 Big East) on Tuesday, the Hoyas displayed an effort rarely present in their previous 22 games, yet neither attempt produced a win. The Hoyas (13-11, 4-9 Big East) lost to the Big East-leading Panthers 68-58.

“The Syracuse game gave us a lot of confidence. We were kind of down on ourselves . that St. John’s beat us, but the Syracuse game, we came out with a lot of intensity, and I think it carried over to the [Pittsburgh] game,” sophomore point guard Ashanti Cook said. “As the season winds down, we’re getting closer to our best basketball.”

Pittsburgh used a 17-0 run in the middle of the second half to come back against a Georgetown team that led by as many as 13 in the game. The Hoyas went for 7:48 without scoring a point. During that stretch, the MCI Center crowd of 11,876 resounded with cheers for the Panthers.

“We came out like gangbusters in the first half, left it all on the court, played great defense and whatnot and the second half they kind of came out with that intensity, that fire that we had in the first half. The momentum kind of shifted,” sophomore forward Brandon Bowman said.

Pittsburgh’s lethal run was sparked by sophomore guard Carl Krauser. He scored nine straight during that stretch on his way to a career-high 26 points, 19 in the second half.

Georgetown went from down 10 with 2:04 to go to within five with 40.2 seconds left, but could not get any closer.

“I think we played well, and I think we’re getting better as a team,” Head Coach Craig Esherick said.

The Hoyas shot the ball better than they have of late, making 42.1 percent of their field goals.

Senior guard Gerald Riley scored 25 despite being guarded by Esherick’s vote for defensive player of the year, Pitt senior guard Jaron Brown. In addition, Esherick said he kept Riley from participating in practice for the past two days because his foot was bothering him.

“It’s not too bad. It’s holding up. I’m able to run, shoot, play defense and it’s something that’s not going to keep me down,” Riley said.

The Pittsburgh team that the Hoyas came close to knocking off is no cupcake. Their 25 wins are the most in the country, and Georgetown’s 13-point lead was the biggest deficit they have faced all year.

The Panthers are first in the Big East conference, while Georgetown is 12th, just above Miami (13-5, 3-11 Big East) and St. John’s (6-18, 1-12 Big East). Miami lost to Seton Hall Tuesday, giving the Hoyas more insurance that they will be the last team to make the Big East tournament. With three games remaining in the regular season, Georgetown still must win at least one to finish the season .500 and be eligible for the NIT.

“That was the first bit of good news I heard all day,” Esherick said of the Hurricanes’ loss.

The Hoyas came the closest they have all season to playing flawless basketball in Tuesday’s first half. They had just two turnovers in the first 16-and-a-half minutes of the game. They also stayed in the rebounding battle against the physical Panthers, grabbing 12 boards to Pittsburgh’s 16. Pitt, however, changed that in the second half and ended up outrebounding Georgetown 40-20.

Georgetown’s defense during transitions and around the perimeter was excellent, as it caused 14 Pittsburgh turnovers in the first half and 23 in the game.

“Defensively we caused them a lot of problems,” Esherick said.

But the Hoyas were once again helpless to guard the paint. Starting forwards Chris Taft and Chevon Troutman combined for 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Taft, who grabbed 12 boards, had his fifth double-double of the season.

“I’m not saying it’s a moral victory, but I can’t say that we played poorly when we didn’t. We played well,” Esherick said.

Georgetown faces Seton Hall in South Orange, N.J., tomorrow at 7 p.m.