5 Takeaways: St. John’s picks up first Big East win over Georgetown

By Anthony E. Parelli (@reportedbytheAP)

Exhale.

 

After blowing a second-half lead a week ago to Georgetown, St. John’s was able to atone Sunday, downing the Hoyas, 94-83, to pick up its first conference win of the season.

 

An atypical hot start from beyond the arc – hitting four of its first five 3-point attempts – put St. John’s up by double digits midway through the first half. The lead eventually ballooned to 16, but an 8-0 Georgetown run cut the gap to 49-41 at the intermission.

 

Like a week ago, the Red Storm (6-4, 1-3 Big East) stumbled, missing nine straight shots and allowing the Hoyas to chip the lead all the way down to two. Unlike a week ago however, St. John’s remained poised and regathered control, eventually leading by as much as 19 late.

 

Imposing his Will

Greg Williams Jr. has, by all measures, had himself a nice season up to this point. Sunday, however, is what St. John’s is hoping for game in and game out from the junior. 

 

Williams was assertive and decisive, leading the Johnnies with a career-best 26 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. In an offense full of streaky scorers, St. John’s would benefit greatly if Williams can be that consistent second option to Julian Champagnie.

 

Big difference

After Georgetown center Qudus Wahab almost notched a triple-double against the Johnnies last Sunday, they did a much better job contending with the 6-foot-11 sophomore this time around. Wahab finished with 12 points, six rebounds and only two blocks, a far cry from the nine he had a week ago. The Red Storm were more inclined to drive at the body of Wahab, getting him into foul trouble early in the second half. He would eventually foul out late after being forced to sit with four fouls while St. John’s pulled away.

 

On the other side, the bigs of the Red Storm made their presence felt in a big way. Arnaldo Toro earned the start after his strong recent play and while he didn’t flash in a big way on the score sheet (one point, five rebounds, three assists), he more than held his own down low. His best moment came with 7:30 left in the first half and Georgetown making a run. He grabbed back-to-back offensive rebounds on one possession, eventually finding Marcellus Earlington for a 3-pointer to stop the bleeding.

 

Isaih Moore also had a strong night for St. John’s, coming off the bench to score 12 on a tidy 5-of-7 shooting. His athleticism was a huge edge for the Red Storm in the second half.

 

Quick learner

After costly turnovers doomed St. John’s in the teams’ first meeting, freshman Posh Alexander seemed singularly determined not to let those mistakes reoccur. The point guard was smarter with the ball and used his toughness to score at the rim. Alexander has been impressive all year, but seeing him take over when Georgetown was on the precipice of tying the game may be his best work yet.

 

Balancing act

Like Creighton did earlier in the week, St. John’s was able to hurt Georgetown in a variety of ways from a plethora of scorers. All told, the Red Storm finished with five players in double digits as Champagnie continued his prolific year with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Vince Cole poured in 17 in addition to Williams’ 26, Moore’s 12 and Alexander’s 10.

 

Back to basics

Defense is supposed to be St. John’s and coach Mike Anderson’s calling card, but it’s been the Red Storm’s biggest weakness to date. Sunday was much better, holding the Hoyas to 43.5 percent shooting and 38.5 percent from deep. 

 

If the Red Storm is going to climb out of the hole it has dug itself, it has to start on the defensive end.

 

Next up

St. John’s was originally scheduled to face No. 7 Villanova on Dec. 30, but the two teams elected to postpone the contest in favor of a break for their players. St. John’s has 12 days to lick its wounds and figure out how to build off Sunday’s win on Jan. 2 against DePaul – who has yet to play a game this year due to COVID-19.