LINKS: Last Look at How Hoyas Beat St. John’s

On Sunday, the Georgetown Hoyas beat the St. John’s Red Storm, 97-94 in OT. Since Sunday night, quie a bit of news came out—a few Hoyas were honored by the conference and the BIG EAST released the remainder of the schedule.

Looking back, it was a tight game all the way through. Either team could have taken over the game at any given time if they didn’t experience several turnover issues, but Georgetown eventually persevered after a couple big shots and key blocks. That said, Georgetown likely only won because St. John’s shot only 4-13 from three. If an opponent doesn’t shoot at least twice that many three-point attempts, they’re playing right into Georgetown’s strengths.

Perhaps Hoyas fans can take solace in the fact that Patrick Ewing’s gang did just enough to beat Mike Anderson’s pressure-heavy defense. Indeed, several members of Georgetown played very well and built confidence.

But, it’s two days later and we can be honest, most BIG EAST teams are going to take and make dozens of good looks from the perimeter against Georgetown if things don’t change before the rest of the conference schedule begins.

Here are the links:
Wahab, Georgetown host block party in OT win over St. John’s | Federal News Network | FEDERALNEWSNETWORK

Dante Harris scored 22 points and Jahvon Blair scored 20 and Georgetown beat St. John’s 97-94 in overtime Sunday night.

Donald Carey scored 19 for the Hoyas (3-3, 1-1 Big East Conference) and Qudus Wahab scored a career-high 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked a career-high nine shots. Wahab’s blocks total put him in a tie for sixth place all-time in a single game with former Hoyas Alonzo Mourning and Tom Scates

Georgetown outlasts St. John’s in overtime to earn its first Big East win | WASHINGTONPOST

The Hoyas picked up their first Big East win of the season, beating St. John’s, 97-94, at McDonough Arena after Wahab blocked a short jumper that could have tied the score with just one second remaining in the extra period. The sophomore nearly had a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks in a wild back-and-forth game that saw 15 lead changes in the 117th meeting between conference rivals.

“Nine blocked shots — that’s Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo numbers right there,” Ewing said. “For the most part, he did a great job. I was cussing him out, but then I wanted to kiss him. When he gave up that free throw rebound, I was cursing him out. But then he made that huge block to seal the game for us.”

The kids are alright: Underclassmen lead Hoyas to win in overtime thriller - The Georgetown Voice | GEORGETOWNVOICE

Patrick Ewing starting Dante Harris with graduate guard Jalen Harris down due to back spasms. These changes made major waves right away with Moore kicking off the scoring with a layup followed by Harris nailing a 3-pointer and then setting up Wahab with an easy bucket. Unfortunately for the Hoyas, Harris’s youth began to show after that, as St. John’s broke out a ferocious press that forced several turnovers. Still, the Hoyas maintained a lead early, despite uncharacteristically quiet play from senior guard Jahvon Blair and senior forward Jamorko Pickett.

The biggest reason that Georgetown struggled to maintain their lead in the first half was due to the rebounding differential. Despite a size advantage, Georgetown gave up 13 offensive rebounds in the first half alone, leading to 11 second chance points for the Red Storm. Moore spearheaded this effort, but the whole St. John’s team had energy and tenacity throughout the first half.

Georgetown edges out St. John’s in overtime, 97-94 | BIGEASTCOASTBIAS

[T]he standout performance has to go to Freshman Dante Harris ,who played like a seasoned player doing all he can to keep Georgetown not only in the game but constantly pushing his team forward. He appeared to never tire over the course of forty minutes of regulation play plus the added five minutes, even coming close to grabbing a final steal of the ball in the dying seconds of overtime to seal the eventual win.

Harris finished the night with 22 points on 6-of-14 shooting and 8-of-9 shooting from the line. He was not the only Hoya though to have a standout night as Jahvon Blair finished the night with a 20 point game, Donald Carey posted a 19 point game, and Qudus Wahab’s near triple-double night of 17 points, 10 rebounds, and nine blocks was an incredible performance.

St. John’s suffers dismal OT loss to Georgetown | NYPost

Ultimately, their defense — an Anderson staple his entire career — let them down. Georgetown (3-3, 1-1) shot 54 percent from the field and made 11-of-23 3-point attempts. Unheralded freshman point guard Dante Harris was forced into a starting role due to injury and torched St. John’s (5-3, 0-2) for 22 points.

“I think we got to take just a bit more pride in it,” Anderson said. “Our defense is not where we want it to be right now.”

The blown lead late in regulation was the killer. It was 82-75 St. John’s following an 8-0 run. The game felt close to over. It wasn’t. Alexander made a freshman mistake, fouling Harris in the backcourt with the Johnnies over the limit. Moore and Cole followed with turnovers and Jahvon Blair hit consecutive 3-pointers to give Georgetown the lead with 43.3 seconds left. A terrific Alexander find on an out-of-bounds play to Williams at the buzzer saved St. John’s for the moment, forcing overtime.

St. John’s drops heartbreaker to Georgetown, 97-94 | RUMBLEINTHEGARDEN

Georgetown was led by freshman Dante Harris’ breakout performance of 21 points; Jahvon Blair had 22, Donald Carey added 19 and Qudus Wahab had 17 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks. Next up for St. John’s is a 5pm home game against the Creighton Bluejays on Thursday. They will face Georgetown next Sunday in Queens.

Early on, Georgetown’s Qudus Wahab, the big center, drew touches and shots, and it looked like it would be another battering in the paint by the Hoyas. But a strong stretch from Posh Alexander and Julian Champagne put the Red Storm back on track. Alexander in particular, was fast to the offensive rim, solid in his drives, and made the Hoyas account for him.

St. John’s Basketball: 3 takeaways from overtime loss to Georgetown Hoyas | BUSTINGBRACKETS

St. John’s started the second half on fire, opening the period on a 15-4 run to take a 55-46 lead with just over 15 minutes remaining. Georgetown would tie the game at 60 points apiece behind a T.J. Berger three-pointer at the 10:57 mark. The Johnnies found themselves down 73-70 with six minutes left in the game.

The Red Storm would climb back to a seven-point, 82-75 advantage with 2:37 remaining behind a scoring charge led by Isaih Moore, Greg Williams Jr., and Champagnie. Georgetown responded with a 13-5 run, including a miraculous layup made by Donald Carey to take the 88-86 lead with six ticks left in regulation.

St. John’s can’t hold on, falls to Georgetown in overtime | NEWSDAY

A driving layup by Williams gave the Red Storm (5-2, 0-2) a 92-88 lead with four minutes left in OT, but it was their last field goal. The Hoyas (3-3, 1-1) came back with six unanswered points to snatch the lead away.

In the final 30 seconds, St. John’s Vince Cole missed a three-pointer. Then, after Williams intentionally missed the second of two free throws with 5.9 seconds left and Georgetown up 96-94, the Red Storm’s Isaih Moore got the offensive rebound. But his putback attempt was blocked by 6-11 Qudus Wahab — his ninth blocked shot — and St. John’s had to foul.