Madison Square Garden–The Johnnies entered this game looking for its first win at the Garden this year. St. John’s now have an 12-3 record in New York City, which includes nine wins at Carnesecca Arena and victories over Syracuse and Temple at the Barclays Center.
This was the 129th time that both team met in a series which dates back to 1909. The Wildcats are St. John’s most frequently played opponent in program history. Villanova has now won the last six games against the Johnnies, including a one-point victory in the Big East Tournament Quarterfinals last year. The Red Storm last victory in the series was on Feb. 3rd 2021 a 70-59 win at Carnesecca Arena in Queens.
St. John’s (14-8 4-7 Big East) beat Georgetown (6-16 10 Big East) 75-73 on Sunday in front of 11,455 at Madison Square Garden, NY. The first seven minutes it looked like the Hoyas were going to get blown out of the arena but they eventually settled down and played tough nose basketball in the half.
David Jones led the way for the Red Storm with 17 points and seven rebounds. Dylan Addae-Wusu chipped in 15 points with three boards. Joel Soriano and AJ Storr had the inside and out game going on both finished the contest with 12 points.
“We went in zone to mix it up-something we haven’t done today, so we thought it would throw them [ St.John’s] off. We got a stop, and then at the end of the game we got a great shot. We executed the play to perfection, Bryson Mozone was wide open, it just didn’t go in.” Hoyas coach Patrick Hoyas said.
The Johnnies came out firing out on all cylinders, they led 10-4 at the 15:32 mark with Dylan Addae-Wusu draining two long threes in that frame to set the tone. A 9-0 run by the Hoyas cut the deficit by one (35-34) with 1:41 left to go until the half.
In the first half, the Johnnies shot 45.0% (15-33) from the floor and 45.0% (5-11) from beyond the arc. St. John’s got sloppy with the rock turning it over ten times which led to easy transition points for the Hoyas
Georgetown shot 41.0% (16-39) from the hardwood and 25.0% (3-12) from downtown in the first half, the Hoyas turned up the pressure on the perimeter and got a few steals to cut the lead. Brandon Murray hit a deep three from the top of the key at the buzzer to give the Hoyas a 39-35 lead going into the locker room. GU was led by Primo Spears, who torched the Johnnies for 13 points and his sidekick Murray chipped in 12 in the half.
In the second half, the Johnnies made a couple of runs but every time SJU trimmed the lead or got into striking distance, Spears would hit a three to quiet the storm. At the 9:51 mark Georgetown had a nine point lead 62-53.
SJU went 8-0 run in the half and tied the score at 64 with 4:34 to play. From that point on the Johnnies played hip to hip defense and made the Hoyas turn the ball over and converted the miscues into points.
Primo Spears scored 25 points with two assists for the Hoyas. Brandon Murray chipped in 17 points along with four rebounds.
St. John’s outrebounded the Hoyas 44-39 which helped the Johnnies cut the deficit in the second half.
The Hoyas had a opportunity to win the game, Spears inbounded the ball to Mozone– he had a good look and missed at the buzzer that would’ve given Georgetown the win.
Up Next:
Georgetown will be on home to face Creighton on Wednesday Feb 1st for an 6:30 P.M showdown on CBSSN.
St. John’s will travel to Newark, NJ to play Seton Hall on Wednesday Feb 1st for a 8:30 P.M. start time.
