In a tilt nobody could define as artful, Georgetown blasted visiting St. John’s 83-55, before a paltry 5,158 fans in Verizon Center. In doing so the Hoyas garnered their first BIG EAST win, leaving them 1-4 in conference, 9-8 overall.
The game was never truly in question.
Sure St. John’s (8-10, 2-3) either led or stood tied with Georgetown until the clock read 11:05 was expended in the first half, yet the game’s outcome never felt unsettled. G’Town led 44-37 at half, having enjoyed an eight point advantage late in the stanza.
Their 19-2 run put the game out of reach to begin second half play; with 10 minutes and 23 seconds expended, Georgetown was ahead 63-39, the Johnnies lone point during that stretch being a layup by the freshman guard Shamorie Ponds (12 points, four rebounds).
Yes, it was ugly. Head Hoya John Thompson III saw beauty in it.
“I told the guys right after the game that maybe as much as any time this year, they listened and executed our defensive game plan” shared the coach afterward. “Those guys are good, they shoot 5-30, that’s not going to happen that often. They lead our league in three’s made and I think a lot of them were, sometimes people just miss, but I think we made them miss. I think overall our defensive execution tonight is moving toward where it needs to be”.
Johnnie shooting numbers say it all; 27.6% from the field, 20% in the second half. Their three ball mark was worse at 16.7% for the game and 13.3% in the back stanza.
Thompson's SJU counterpart, Chris Mullin, admitted the last 20 minute futility, noting “We have had outings where we’ve either struggled offensively or defensively but tonight it was both, especially in the second half”. Mullin’s next steps were “we just have to move on”.
Georgetown, which finished 42.6% from the field yet a paltry 23.5% from beyond the arch, the last being impacted by going 0-7 in the second half, was led in scoring by junior guard L.J. Peak’s 16 points. Three of his teammates, graduate forward Rodney Pryor, freshman guard Jagan Mosely and sophomore forward Marcus Derrickson joined Peak in double figure scoring, the first two logging 13 points each, the last putting up 11.
Free throw shooting, which took a swoon during BIG EAST play for G'Town was upticked tonight, as the Hoyas went to the line 33 times versus their opponent’s 27 tries. Marquette, Xavier, Providence and Butler, G’Town’s previous league foes, bested the Blue and Grey with six, 15, 14 and 17 more charity stripe attempts, respectively.
The Hoyas sank 81.8% of charity stripe opportunities, including an impressive 15-15 second half performance. Comparatively SJU went 66.7% from the line tonight, just 6-12 in the last stanza.
Thompson admitted of getting to the free throw stipe “It hasn’t been happening” in league play, yet this evening “I don’t think we necessarily changed anything. The last couple of games, tonight included, we ended up with over 40 points in the paint. It’s not like we’re passing it around the perimeter and taking three’s, maybe guys are just fouling less in the BIG EAST, I’m not sure. We did, we got to the paint, we got fouled. And in the second half we made our foul shots”.
Another departure from recent performances was rebounding, where the Hoyas pulled down 20 more than St. John’s (50-30). In their last three BIG EAST games, G’Town was outrebounded by six, four and six caroms.
Georgetown’s was a group effort on the boards, with Pryor leading the contest at eight caroms. Senior center Bradley Hayes (eight points) placed second in the contest at seven rebounds. A sextet of additional Hoyas pulled down at least three boards.
Thompson opined his team’s glass cleaning “is part of defense and understanding we have to finish a possession”. He thought “our guys were focused today” collectively.
SJU, which saw their Big Three of Ponds, freshman guard Marcus LoVett and junior wing Bashir Ahmed make double figure scoring – the final two both scoring 10 points – is off until Saturday, when they host number three ranked nationally Villanova. The home game, held at Madison Square Garden, is a Noon tip-off.
Georgetown also next takes the floor Saturday, Noon, when former BIG EAST rival UConn travels south to Verizon Center. Is he happy to take on the Huskies during the BIG EAST portion of G’Town’s season?
“Not really” he shared, as “I like the UConn series. It’s just with the timing of it, it’s when we had to do it. Personally, at this point, I wish we could just lock in on conference play. But we can’t control our schedule”.
Interestingly enough, the Hoyas getting a win wasn’t cause for “elation”, yet “You lose four in a row, to get one it’s a better feeling than the other day. Now we just have to keep improving and move on. You have to grow from every experience, whether it’s a loss or a win and there’s a lot we can take from this game as we continue to get better and move on here”.
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Extra coverage: This and That: The Johnnies
