St. John’s is still winless in the Big East after dropping a 92-67 decision to Georgetown at the Verizon Center.
The Johnnies never held a lead the entire game while Georgetown had three players score at least 20 points and hit a season-high 56 percent of its field goals.
The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Hoyas, who improved to 14-11 overall and 7-5 in the Big East Conference, while St. John’s falls to 7-18 overall and 0-12 in league play.
“We just gave them too much space. They run a really nice offense and they’re very patient and disciplined. They make you guard for a good portion of the shot clock and have nice ball movement,” St. John’s coach Chris Mullin said. “I thought the first half dictated everything. Letting them get looks like that and run free is not the way St. John’s-Georgetown basketball is supposed to be played.”
Christian Jones paced the Red Storm with 14 points and nine rebounds. Kassoum Yakwe scored double-figures for the third-straight game, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and three blocks.
Federico Mussini added eight points on 2-of-9 shooting and Yankuba Sima scored three points. The graduate transfers, Ron Mvouika and Durand Johnson, finished with a combined 12 points and seven turnovers.
The Hoyas out-rebounded the Johnnies by 10 and grabbed five more offensive rebounds in the first half while making 7-of-13 threes.
“I always tell them when you play no matter what, if you play with force and pace, you’re going to at least let your opponent know it’s going to be a tough night and you’re going to compete. It’s something they’re learning. It’s part of the process,” Mullin said.
A pair of Georgetown 3-pointers and a jumper to start the game gave the Hoyas a 10-4 lead at the 17:19 mark. The lead grew to 10 points, 18-8, as Georgetown’s offense was too fast for the Johnnies to handle.
St. John’s cut the lead to five points, 18-13, on a 3-pointer from Mussini, but the Hoyas responded with a 10-2 run to regain a double-digit advantage and maintained it the rest of the way.
St. John’s got no closer than 14 in the second half, after trailing by 16 points, 48-32, at halftime.
The Red Storm will travel to Philadelphia where they will take on the number one team in the nation, the Villanova Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center. Game time is slated for 8 p.m. airing on CBS Sports Network.
