So much has changed for the Georgetown men's basketball team since it last faced St. John's nearly 11 months ago. The Hoyas didn't have Jeff Green, for one thing, and last night the freshman forward scored a game-high 21 points to help lead Georgetown to a 66-57 win over St. John's in front of 7,864 at MCI Center.
Green has been just one of several factors behind the resurgence of the Hoyas, who lost to a scandal-ridden and depleted Red Storm team last February, a game that typified Georgetown's struggles last season. With last night's win, the Hoyas are 13-5 and, at 5-2 in the Big East, trail only No. 4 Syracuse (7-0) and No. 8 Boston College (5-0) in the conference standings. Georgetown will travel to face the undefeated Eagles (16-0 overall) on Saturday.
Georgetown's Ashanti Cook, airborne and nearly out of options, passes by Lamont Hamilton of St. John's.
(Jonathan Newton -- The Washington Post)
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"I feel that we're playing very well right now," said junior Ashanti Cook, who scored 13 points. "But we need to do a lot better. There's still a lot of basketball left."
Georgetown and St. John's (7-9, 1-5) are mirror images in many ways, starting with their reliance on youth (six freshmen were on the floor at tip-off, three for each team) and the low expectations from coaches in the Big East (Georgetown was picked to finish 11th in the preseason coaches' poll; St. John's, 12th).
"I think our years and our games have been really similar," Georgetown Coach John Thompson III said. "We've been fortunate and have had some lucky bounces and have pulled out some wins at the end, and they've had some unlucky bounces and haven't."
St. John's sophomore guard Darryl Hill scored 20 points (right about his Big East-leading average), and seven of them came in the final two minutes. Hill -- whose nickname is "Showtime" -- committed a season-high nine turnovers, roughly half of St. John's total (19). The Red Storm held a significant rebounding edge (37-29), particularly on the offensive side (21-13), but Georgetown was credited with more second-chance points (18 to 15).
Junior forward Brandon Bowman had 14 points and five of Georgetown's season-high 13 steals. The Hoyas shot 50 percent from the field (24 for 48), their best shooting performance since their win over Pittsburgh in the conference opener.
Georgetown got off to a poor start and fell behind 12-4 six minutes into the game. At that point, Georgetown had the same number of turnovers (four) as field goal attempts. But the Hoyas closed the half with a 7-0 run to take a 31-27 halftime edge, and they led by 16 points in the second half.
There were anxious moments at the end, as Georgetown missed 6 of 9 free throws in the final 1 minute 25 seconds, but St. John's had too much ground to make up. For the first time in 11 days, the Hoyas' game didn't come down to the final seconds of regulation, though Thompson said "it felt like it did."
The Red Storm had trouble with Green, the All-Met from Northwestern High. He made 8 of 14 shots, and eight of his nine rebounds came on the offensive end.
"Green is a terrific player and he scores in so many different ways," first-year St. John's coach Norm Roberts said. "I think he's the best freshman in the league by far."
Green scored on tough put-backs, and he scored even when he was fouled. Midway through the second half, he made a layup in heavy traffic while being hacked by Lamont Hamilton. Green slammed the ball to the floor, which passes as emotional fireworks from the usually stoic forward.
His mother, Felicia Stallion, is not quite as reserved. She is a crowd favorite, easy to spot thanks to the Northwestern jersey she wore and the large "My son #32 Green" sign she carried. The video screen cut to shots of her dancing in the stands after particularly good plays by her son, like his pretty finger-roll in the first half.
That basket gave Georgetown its first lead, 24-23 with 6:30 left in the first half. He finished off a fast break by gliding in from the right side, carrying the ball in one hand, then in both hands, before laying it in with his right.
"I didn't know what I was going to do," Green said of the finger-roll. "I just wanted to get it in the basket and score the two points and get back down the court. It really didn't excite me, it was another two points and I had to get back on defense."
Hoyas Note: Tip-off for Georgetown's game against Seton Hall on Feb. 2 has been moved to 8 p.m. because it will be televised on ESPN Classic. The Georgetown athletic department is encouraging fans to wear retro clothes for "Be cool, wear old school" night.
