SID Report: Hoya Comeback Falls Short
Check out this official Georgetown Athletic Department report, documenting the Hoyas' 90-85 loss to St. John's.
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WASHINGTON – Despite making it a three-point game with 43 ticks on the clock, the Georgetown University men's basketball team could not complete the comeback, falling 90-85 to the visiting St. John's University Red Storm on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena. With the setback, the Blue & Gray sits at 8-18 on the year with a 1-14 mark in BIG EAST action while SJU improves to 15-12 overall on the season with a 7-9 record in league play.
ON THE RECORD
"I thought it was a really good BIG EAST game. We knew we would be playing against a team that came off a tough loss at home. We knew we would get their best shot. I thought we played with a lot of energy but this was a game where little things beat us. I think the team that played the smartest down the end won. We have another road game coming up. We can't put our heads down, we have to stay connected to one another and we are going to continue to drive our guys for excellence. I look forward to our preparation as we get ready to play DePaul." - Head Coach Ed Cooley
Jayden Epps led all scorers with 31 points on a 12-of-20 performance from the field to go along with a squad-best seven assists and a pair of steals. It was Epps' fifth 30-point effort of the season.Rowan Brumbaugh, back in the starting lineup, tallied 15 points on an efficient 5-for-9 shooting performance while also dishing out a squad-best seven assists.Supreme Cook rounded out those in double figures with 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds.The Hoyas shot 47.0% (31-66) for the game, but allowed St. John's to shoot 57.6% (34-59) on the night.The Red Storm won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Hoyas 34-29.Both teams managed 16 assists while the Hoyas forced 12 turnovers on seven steals. SJU forced seven turnovers on six steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
St. John's came out hot as the Hoyas struggled to find their rhythm and SJU led 9-2. Five unanswered from the Hoyas fueled by a Dontrez Styles bucket followed by an Ismael Massoud 3-pointer made it a one-possession game (9-7) with 15:34 to play.Despite the Red Storm leading 35-14 through the first 13 minutes of action, the Hoyas would not go away as an Epps jumper sparked a 12-2 run capped by a pair of 3-pointers from Brumbaugh and Epps to cut the deficit to 11 (37-26) with 2:51 on the clock.
A pair of Soriano free throws extended the lead back to 13 but the Blue & Gray closed the frame on a Brumbaugh trey followed by a conventional three-point play from Drew Fielder to head into the locker room trailing 39-32.A quick three points to open the second half pulled GU within four points (39-35) but St. John's swung the momentum back, staging a 10-4 run to build the lead back to double digits (49-39) with 15:28 on the clock.SJU built the lead back to 17 (58-41), but the Hoyas came up with back-to-back 3-pointers, one apiece from Fielder and Wayne Bristol Jr.
Both squads went back and forth until a Cook layup from an Epps dish cut the game to single digits (68-59) and forced the Red Storm to call a timeout. SJU came out of the huddle to extend it back to double digits.Five-straight from Epps made it a two-possession game (82-78) with 1:31 to play. St. John's had a bucket on the other end before a Bristol Jr. trey made it a three-point game (84-81), but that's as close as the Blue & Gray would get, falling 90-85 at the final whistle.
UP NEXT
The Hoyas return to action on Saturday, February 24 with a road trip to Chicago, Illinois to face the DePaul University Blue Demons. Tipoff at Wintrust Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Jordan Kent calling the play-by-play and Tim Doyle providing analysis. The radio call of Rich Chvotkin, in his 50th season as the Voice of the Hoyas, can be heard locally on The Team 980 and nationally on the SiriusXM app.