On the road Sunday, Dec. 20, in New York City, the Georgetown men’s basketball team dropped its first road game of the season to the St. John’s Red Storm 94-83. The loss split the conference series between the Hoyas and the Red Storm. The first contest ended in an overtime 97-94 Georgetown victory.
Senior guard Jahvon Blair, the leading scorer for the Hoyas this season (3-6, 1-3 Big East), hit a team-high 25 points and six assists during the game. Graduate student guard Donald Carey and sophomore center Qudus Wahab also recorded double figures. Carey made five of nine shots from three-point range to finish with 19 points, while Wahab sank six of his 12 points from the free throw line.
On the defensive end of the floor, senior forward Jamorko Pickett snatched a game-high 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Dante Harris played hard defense as well. He had two steals in his 34 minutes of action.
Head Coach Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85) was not happy with Georgetown’s defensive effort, though, as the Red Storm was able to drain 13 three-pointers.
“We need to do a much better job of guarding the ball at the three-point line but also being able to stop them from penetrating the ball,” Ewing said in an interview with GUHoyas. “I didn’t think today was one of our best games.”
Georgetown achieved an early 12-9 lead behind efficient shooting, starting 3-for-3 from the floor. St. John’s (6-4, 1-3 Big East), however, responded with a 30-11 run and took command of the first half. The Hoyas’ inability to close out three-pointers gave the Red Storm too many open looks from downtown.
With just over two minutes left in the first half, Carey got the hot hand. He buried three three-pointers to spark an 11-5 Georgetown run, and the Hoyas were down 49-41 by halftime.
At the start of the second half, Georgetown began to chip away at St. John’s lead. An 8-2 run marked by two buckets from Pickett and a no-look assist from Blair to Wahab cut the Red Storm’s lead to five points at 58-53. St. John’s then began scoring from behind the three-point line again and put Georgetown away with a 20-5 stretch.
Two clutch baskets from Blair driving the lane and a successful post move by sophomore center Timothy Ighoefe kept Georgetown alive before Wahab fouled out, leaving a gaping hole at the big man position for the Hoyas. The Red Storm also found themselves in the bonus early on in the half, and they were able to convert many of their free throw opportunities down the stretch.
Georgetown will travel to Indianapolis, Ind. on Wednesday, Jan. 6, to face the Butler Bulldogs on the road. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. The Hoyas hope to tighten up their defense and come away with a different result.
