St. John’s falls on the road to Georgetown in double-overtime, 93-89

The broadcasters on FS1 called the game “a war of attrition.”

It wasn’t pretty, but despite having three players foul out, the Red Storm had it in their hands at the end of the first overtime. As has been the case with much of the winless start in conference play, St. John’s shot themselves in the foot to throw another game away.

After Marcus Derrickson made a game tying three at the end of the first overtime, the Hoyas prevailed in double-overtime, 93-89. A game filled with momentum swings and 16 lead changes, Georgetown featured a balanced attack, with five players scoring in double-figures.

Derrickson had 27 points on the day in addition to 11 rebounds.

The game started without much flow, with both teams committing a plethora of unforced errors. It took both teams until the second half to finally figure get into their rhythm.

St. John’s opened up the second half strong, including a stretch in the middle of the half where they made 5 consecutive baskets. However, they were never able to put the Hoyas away.

In most statistical categories, the teams were even. St. John’s shot 43%, while Georgetown shot 40%. Georgetown won the rebounding battle by a single board, 46-45, and both teams finished with 19 assists.

However, there were a few big differences. Georgetown’s bench outscored their Red Storm counterparts 27-5, including 15 points from Jahvon Blair.

The Hoyas also made it a point to get to the free throw line, getting 26 points at the charity stripe, compared to 16 freebies from St. John’s. The idea of getting to the free throw line not only led to easy points, it also got an already thin St. John’s roster into foul trouble. Tariq Owens, Marvin Clark II, and Bryan Trimble Jr. all fouled out.

The Red Storm also continuously made the mistake of fouling jump shooters. Trimble Jr., Kassoum Yakwe, and Amar Alibegovic were all guilty of bailing the Hoyas out of contested shots.

As demoralizing as this loss may be, there were some individual performances to be noted. Shamorie Ponds finished with 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Tariq Owens finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds.

After a first half plagued by foul trouble, Jessie Govan rebounded in the second half nicely for the Hoyas, finishing with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

The loss drops St. John’s down to 0-8 in the conference and 10-10 overall. Now, the wait for a conference win will have to wait until Tuesday, when they play host to the Creighton Blue Jays. When the two teams played in early January, the team controlled parts of the game on the road, but were unable to closeout the game in Omaha, falling 78-71.

In what some consider to be something of a surprise, Georgetown improves to 3-5 in the conference and 13-6 overall. Patrick Ewing and co. will look to ride the momentum into a showdown with the DePaul Blue Demons next Wednesday.