GAME.
93-89.
Derrickson – 27 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast
Pickett – 16 pts, 9 rebs, 4 ast
Govan – 16 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast#H4L #WeAreGeorgetown pic.twitter.com/yFiGzm39YX— Georgetown Hoops (@GeorgetownHoops) January 20, 2018
In what was St. John’s best chance to win a Big East game so far this year, they lost a 93-89 double-overtime ballgame to Georgetown.
- St. John’s 89 (10-10, 0-8 Big East)
- Georgetown 93 (13-6, 3-5)
- Final, Double Overtime, Box Score
- Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.
While St. John’s and Georgetown are not where they once were in the Big East, the two rivals added a new chapter to the rivalry with a double overtime game this afternoon. In the end, the Hoyas were able to defeat the Red Storm, 93-89, leaving St. John’s still without a win in conference play.
In the end, the Red Storm had plenty of chances to close the game out in the extra sessions. They were able to get the game into overtime thanks to a layup by Shamorie Ponds with 13 seconds to go. Ponds finished with 33 points (game-high), six rebounds, eight assists, and three steals.
The Red Storm even had a five-point lead with 24 seconds in the first overtime, but they were unable to close the deal. That has been their problem since conference play began. It started when Kassoum Yakwe fouled Marcus Derrickson while shooting a three-pointer.
Derrickson, who had 16 of his 27 points in the two overtimes, hit all three free throws to cut the lead to two. After Ponds hit one of two free throws to extend the lead to three, it was Derrickson who hit a game-tying three with four seconds left to send the game to double overtime:
COLD. BLOODED. @GeorgetownHoops
Marcus Derrickson send us to DOUBLE OT! #BIGEASThoops pic.twitter.com/Mh4vDW8NDY
— #BIGEASThoops (@BIGEASTMBB) January 20, 2018
Now, fouling a three-point shooter once is bad enough. But, St. John’s did it again in double overtime as Ponds fouled Jagan Moseley and he was able to convert a four-point play. In less than two minutes, the Hoyas were able to extend their lead to 85-79 and they did not look back from there.
This was a game where St. John’s had to use the entirety of their roster due to foul trouble. Marvin Clark II, who finished with 15 points, fouled out with 1:13 left in regulation. Then, Tariq Owens, who had 17 points and three blocks, fouled out with 2:02 remaining in overtime.
Owens was one of the team’s better offensive performers this afternoon as he made eight of his 12 shots. Besides Ponds (12-for-23), he was the only player to hit more than four shots from the floor.
All season long, depth has been an issue for the Red Storm and Georgetown took full advantage of that today. The Hoyas outscore St. John’s 27-5 in terms of bench points, including 12 from Moseley and 15 from freshman guard Jaquon Blair.
Without that depth, St. John’s had to rely on Ponds, Owens, and Justin Simon to play over 40 minutes each. Simon once again came close to a triple-double as he had eight points, seven assists, and ten rebounds in 48 minutes.
HIGH FLYIN RED STORM pic.twitter.com/mJsIKQO029
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 20, 2018
#SJUBB hit five threes in the first half, including a 2-for-3 effort from Marvin Clark. pic.twitter.com/CsCQoEtIKh
— St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) January 20, 2018
Shamorie Ponds with nine points and four assists in the opening 20 minutes to lead #SJUBB pic.twitter.com/3KV3Tob3kU
— St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) January 20, 2018
While today’s loss is frustrating, there were some positives to take away from this game. St. John’s did hold their own in the rebounding margin (46-45) and they held Jessie Govan to eight rebounds (averages 11.1 per game for the season)
But, while Govan was held to 16 points on 14 shots, Patrick Ewing’s squad got a boost in terms of scoring from Jamorko Pickett, who also finished with 16 points. Coming into today, the freshman forward had 16 points in his prior four games combined.
For St. John’s, they need to do most things correctly to have a chance to win these games and they just haven’t been able to finish. They have given great effort, but they have to find a way to execute late in games and avoid big mistakes.
Next Game: The Red Storm will be back at Carnesecca Arena Tuesday night when they host the Creighton Blue Jays (15-4, 5-2 Big East). You can watch the game at 8:30 p.m ET on FS1. Creighton beat St. John’s in Omaha, 78-71, back on January 3.
