Hoyas slam Johnnies

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Porter Jr. Leads No. 19 Georgetown Past St. John's, 67-51

NEW YORK - Georgetown sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. (Morley, Mo./ Scott County Central) had his fourth double-double of the season and the 19th-ranked Hoyas used a big first half run to build a 17-point lead at intermission and went on to beat St. John's, 67-51, at Madison Square Garden Saturday afternoon.

The Hoyas end a two-game losing streak and improved to 11-3 overall and 1-2 in the BIG EAST, while St. John's falls to 9-8 overall and 1-3 in league play.

Porter Jr. recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 14 rebounds, a season high. He led three players in double figures, as junior guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) hit 7-of-10 shots and scored 17 points and junior forward Nate Lubick (Southborough, Mass. / St. Mark's) added 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Seven different Georgetown players scored and the Hoyas connected on 43.1 percent of their shots from the field (22-of-51) and held a 48-31 advantage on the boards.

Leading by 17 points, 36-19, at the half, the Hoyas used a quick 6-1 run over the opening 2:08 and pushed the lead back to 22 points, 42-20, when freshman guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Indianapolis, Ind./Oak Hill) fed Lubick for a dunk.

Georgetown opened a 17-point lead at the half, 36-19, after connecting on 48.3 percent of its field goals (14-of-29) and holding a commanding lead on the boards (23-14). St. John's had seven blocked shots, including five from Chris Obekpa, but the stingy Hoya defense limited SJU to only eight field goals and 34.8 percent shooting.

The Hoyas had the lead from the start after a dunk from Trawick and GU held SJU without a field goal for the first 3:18 of the game. St. John's pulled to within five points, 13-8, on a layup from Jamal Branch at the 12:28 mark, but the Hoyas went on a 20-2 run over 5:28 and took a 33-10 lead on a layup from Porter Jr. with 6:33 left in the half. Five different Georgetown players scored during the run, including a jumper from Smith-Rivera and a three-pointer from junior guard Aaron Bowen (Jacksonville, Fla./QEA [N.C.]).

St. John's went without a field goal for 4:14 in the half, but out-scored Georgetown 9-3 over the final 6:33 and pulled to within 36-19 on a layup from Harrison with 59 seconds half.

Sophomore forward Greg Whittington (Columbia, Md./ Oakland Mills) did not play due to a violation of team rules.

The Hoyas are back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 16, hosting Providence College in a BIG EAST Conference game at Verizon Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be shown live on MASN, with Mike Corey and Bob Wenzel calling all of the action, and can be heard locally on Sports Talk AM 570.