– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
WASHINGTON — Almost the entirety of the game that St. John’s played on Wednesday evening paralleled their chances at reaching the NCAA Tournament this season: a hot start, a couple of bumps in the road, reestablishing solid play, a complete unraveling that almost cost it the game, and, finally, enough composure to see off the victory. Not only will the Johnnies take the victory, they’ll hope that the end of tonight’s game ends up mirroring the end to their season as far as making it to the Big Dance.
Jordan Dingle led five St. John’s players in double figures with 22 points as the Red Storm opened up a 17-point second-half lead before holding on to defeat Georgetown 90-85 inside Capital One Arena. Every player who scored at least 10 points for St. John’s shot over 50 percent from the field as the Red Storm made a season-high 57.6 percent (34-of-59) from the field.
The hot shooting and aggressive play was a positive response to the harsh words that head coach Rick Pitino had at the conclusion of the team’s home loss to Seton Hall last Sunday, where he spared no feeling as he bemoaned the lack of talent on the roster, the university’s facilities, and stating that his first year in Queens as the Red Storm head coach has been “the most unenjoyable experience I’ve had since I’ve been coaching.”
Whatever frustrations there were from the team after that public undressing were taken out on the Hoyas early on, as St. John’s scored the game’s first seven points and opened up a 35-14 lead at the 7:14 mark of the first half.
Georgetown was able to slice the Red Storm’s lead down to seven by the half, 39-32, and a Jayden Epps three-pointer with 90 seconds remaining in the game brought Georgetown within four at 82-78. Daniss Jenkins connected on a long jumper from the left wing on St. John’s next possession before a Wayne Bristol Jr. three for the Hoyas brought Georgetown within one possession at 84-81. RJ Luis scored for the Johnnies on a dunk to open the lead back up to five, and four free throws later on sealed the game and snapped St. John’s three-game losing streak.
Epps led all scorers with 31 points for the Hoyas, who have now lost 11 straight.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Wednesday evening’s contest, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 13 pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
