Georgetown dropped a winnable game Monday, losing 61-58 to St. John’s in the last minute in front of a charged crowd at Madison Square Garden. As the Hoyas tried to come back from a nine-point first half deficit, none of their vaunted three-man back court was equal to the task: Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, and Jason Clark shot a combined 7 for 26 from the field and 2 for 14 from three in easily their worst collective effort since becoming the team’s focal point. The loss left Georgetown at just 1-2 in conference and seemingly miles from the dominant Memphis victory just 11 days ago.
The three guards’ ineffectiveness masked the valuable contributions by the rest of the team, which shot a combined 13 for 20 from the field. In particular, Hollis Thompson led the team with 16 points, notching his first double-figure scoring game in his last four tries. Henry Sims provided some much-needed offensive spark in the first half, finishing with 7 points and 3 rebounds, and Nate Lubick provided the glue, chipping in 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Julian Vaughn mixed stout interior play (8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks) with questionable decision-making (3 turnovers, 4 fouls).
The Hoyas were locked in a see-saw battle for much of the first half, leading as late as 21-20 at the 8-minute mark. Thompson greased the offensive wheels early, pouring in two threes to go with a pair of lay-ups, while Sims made a pair of jumpers to keep the St. John’s zone honest. But the Hoyas fell into an offensive rut, managing just two Lubick free throws over a 7:38 span as St. John’s opened up a 32-23 lead. A poor shooting display–during the drought, each of the aforementioned Hoya guards bricked threes, with Wright missing back-to-back jumpers–was exacerbated by four turnovers.
The bridge between the two halves was the senior guards’ best stretch, as Wright scored all seven of his points and Freeman drained a three which, followed by another Thompson bucket, tied the score at 35. A Red Storm mini-run again extended the lead to six, but Georgetown evened the game again before yet another Thompson lay-in gave the Hoyas a 51-50 lead. Two straight scores by Clark put the Hoyas back up 58-57 in the final 30 seconds, but he couldn’t stop Justin Brownlee, who blew by Clark and Vaughn for an athletic reverse lay-in that proved the game-winner with just 7 ticks on the clock.
Brownlee’s clincher was emblematic of a larger Hoya quickness deficit. The Hoyas seemed perpetually a step behind the Red Storm, giving up 13 steals, 10 offensive rebounds, including a critical board in the last two minutes, and innumerable dribble drives. Georgetown seemed powerless to stop the Red Storm’s pick-and-roll offense, particularly by Dwight Hardy, who led St. John’s with 20 points, seemingly mostly on his lightning-quick forays to the hoop. Hardy’s last two came from the free-throw stripe with two seconds remaining, capping another gut-wrencher for Hoya fans who have already sat through last-second decisions against Old Dominion, Missouri, and Temple.
Monday’s disappointing play by Freeman, Wright, and Clark, along with less than stellar results against Notre Dame and DePaul, may be a sign that the Hoyas are out of sync, tired, or just not as good as the early returns suggested. If it’s one of the first two, the coming five days, in which Georgetown will be able to rest and practice, may provide the necessary remedy. Regardless of whether their problems are deeper–and this blogger, for one, doubts as much, even in light of the recent losses–Saturday’s opponent, West Virginia, will be a hungry opponent even in a down year and therefore a new chance for the Hoyas to prove their merit.
