Hoya fans will tell you that 3-4 has never felt so good. The Hoyas seemingly did everything they could to break their fans hearts once again, but thankfully the Johnnies could not take advantage of Georgetown’s sloppy play down the stretch. Patrick Ewing dished out some ice-cold revenge to his rival Chris Mullin by defeating the Red Storm by a score of 89-78.
Freshman guard Mac McClung paved the way for the Hoyas. McClung torched the Johnnies from the tip, pouring in 25 points, hauling in 5 rebounds, and dishing out 5 assists.
McClung’s performance only reaffirmed what many Hoya fans already believed: the freshman needs to be the focal scoring option on the perimeter moving forward. McClung’s ability to knock down outside shots consistently has forced defenders to crowd him at the three-point line. This gives McClung an advantage in using his athleticism to penetrate the defense off the dribble.
McClung wowed the Garden crowd by knocking down back-to-back three-point shots from NBA range to give the late-game momentum back to the Hoyas. While those were certainly his biggest shots of the game, McClung’s ability to create opportunities for himself off the dribble was the most impressive aspect of his game today. McClung utilized high ball screens to get the bigger L.J. Figueroa (who is still a talented defender) on him and use his speed and athleticism to go to the hole or get Figueroa on his heels and pull up from mid-range.
Jessie Govan pumped in a casual 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for himself. St. John’s did a nice job of forcing Jessie to go to his left and utilizing help defense to make him uncomfortable in the paint. However, Govan showed off his conditioning by burning the Johnnies in transition.
Ewing’s message to the Hoyas all game was defense, hustle, and communication. Ewing consistently emphasized getting back on defense and manning up effectively. The Hoyas got burned by Creighton in their previous game as the Bluejays pushed Ewing’s crew off makes and misses. Georgetown’s lack of discipline and awareness allowed Creighton to generate numerous good looks from deep. St. John’s is a lethal team in transition (as Georgetown painfully found out in early January) and Ewing did a much better job of limiting their transition opportunities.
James Akinjo enjoyed a solid performance today in running the offense. Rather than continually looking for his own shot, Akinjo operated as a pass-first point guard today working to help set up Govan, McClung, and LeBlanc throughout the afternoon. This resulted in a more free-flowing offense that moved the ball with a purpose. Akinjo recorded 7 assists while only taking 5 shot attempts (making two of them). James can still light up opponents with his scoring ability, but he’s learning to recognize how his role molds on a game-by-game basis and that was big for the Hoyas today.
Georgetown did a nice job in limiting Shamorie Ponds this afternoon as well. Ponds scored 21 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and handed out three assists. However, Ponds only hit one three-point shot compared to his 6 back in their first match-up. Jagan Mosely and Akinjo combined to force Ponds off the three-point line and make him uncomfortable from start to finish.
While it was great getting the win, the Hoyas still have problems to clean up. Georgetown turned the ball over 19 times. Yes, you read that correctly. There are not going to be many times when this Hoya team can get away with that sloppiness in the future and still win.
Georgetown’s struggles in late-game situations almost cost them again. With a four-point lead, Akinjo turned the ball over trying to beat the full-court press. The Hoyas then almost turned the ball over again. St. John’s, down two with about a minute to play, had three chances to tie the game on lay-up attempts, but missed them all. McClung then iced the game on a break-away dunk.
Regardless, a win is a win. And until further notice, let’s celebrate. Oh, and by the way, peep the Big East standings.
