If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.
With just over six minutes to play on Wednesday night, Georgetown held a comfortable 10-point lead over St. John’s and looked well on their way to notching their first Big East Tournament win of the Patrick Ewing era. Then it all came crashing down.
Over the final 6:30 of game time the Red Storm dominated the Hoyas, ending the game on a 23-0 run. With the 75-62 win, the Johnnies advance to play top-seeded Creighton tomorrow while a tumultuous season for the Hoyas comes to a disappointing end.
For the first few minutes, nerves seemed to play a role, as both teams struggled to convert open looks from the outside. Georgetown looked particularly out of sorts, as the Hoyas backcourt committed a handful of uncharacteristic turnovers. Eventually St. John’s began to take advantage of these mistakes, rattling off an 8-0 run to open up a 24-17 lead with 10:53 to go in the half.
Sensing the urgency of the moment, the Hoyas responded admirably. Over the next seven and a half minutes, Georgetown turned a seven-point deficit into a 10-point lead thanks to a 19-4 run. This scoring spurt came largely thanks to the play of Terrell Allen and Jamorko Pickett. Allen led the way with 18 first half points, attacking the Johnnies’ defense off the dribble and knocking down open shots from beyond the arc. He finished the night with a team-high 21 points, surpassing 1,000 career points in the process.
Allen’s attacking play was complemented nicely by the efforts of Jamorko Pickett. The junior forward continued his hot shooting streak, knocking down three triples before halftime. Pickett was also a force on the defensive end, blocking three shots. By the end of the night, Pickett had reached a double-double, scoring 13 points and hauling in 10 rebounds.
With things clicking on both ends of the floor, the Hoyas had a lot to feel good about as they went to the locker room with a 42-33 lead.
For the first few minutes of the second half, Georgetown looked as though they were picking up right where they left off. Six quick points brought the Hoyas’ lead to 15, their largest of the contest.
Per usual, the Red Storm responded with a 10-0 run to stay within striking distance. Did you really think Georgetown wouldn’t make their fans sweat out another close game?
Making his return from injury, Omer Yurtseven played significant minutes in the second half . After seeing limited action before halftime, Yurtseven was on the floor for the final 16 minutes of the game. While Yurtseven looked solid on offense, the Hoyas’ defense was far better with Qudus Wahab on the floor. At the very least, it was surprising to see Ewing put so much trust in Yurtseven in his first game back from injury.
Up ten points with 6:31 to play, it seemed as though all the Hoyas needed to do was hang on. They couldn’t even do that. Georgetown went without scoring a point, watching helplessly as St. John’s turned the tide of the game.
The Hoyas’ kryptonite on the offensive end was turning over the basketball. Georgetown committed 21 turnovers on the night, 12 of them coming in the second half. It’s tough to make shots if you can’t even get shots up in the first place. In fact, the Hoyas attempted 13 less field goals than the Johnnies in the second half.
This disparity also was in part due to Georgetown losing the rebounding battle. St. John’s pulled down 15 offensive boards, 10 of them coming in the second half. With Georgetown’s height advantage, there should be no reason for St. John’s to get so many second chance opportunities. Every 50/50 ball seemed to end up in the hands of a Red Storm player. All season we’ve praised the Hoyas’ fight, but maybe the Johnnies wanted it more tonight.
For the St. John’s offense, shots finally began to fall. L.J. Figueroa knocked down two clutch threes for the Johnnies as he led all scorers with 22 points. Perhaps more surprisingly was the contributions of Marcus Earlington. A 23.7% three-point shooter on the year, Earlington got hot at the right time, converting all three of his three-point attempts in the second half. That included the go-ahead three pointer with 2:33 to play.
As the Johnnies extended their lead further in the final minutes, Hoya fans could only look on in despair as this long, long season finally collapsed completely before their eyes.
It’s hard to believe this season is finally over. A year that started with such high expectations ends with another first round exit from the Big East Tournament and a sub-.500 record. In the wake of the loss, I don’t want to jump to any rash conclusions on what this loss means to the program as a whole. All I can say is that this senior class deserved better. I wanted this for them.
