NEW YORK — The Georgetown men’s basketball team had spent the first two weeks of this month methodically climbing the Big East standings to get back to .500 and into the NCAA tournament picture, which following a midseason losing streak appeared at best a long shot.
It took roughly six minutes for the Hoyas to backslide against St. John’s in an 82-60 loss Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. That’s the time it took the Red Storm to score the first 15 points and force Georgetown to chase unsuccessfully the rest of the way en route to having a four-game winning streak abruptly end.
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The Hoyas (15-10, 6-7 Big East) did not score until 13 minutes 47 seconds remained in the first half, and their first field goal came a little less than a minute later. Georgetown collected itself soon enough to prevent a complete runaway at that point and even came within eight with just under seven minutes left in regulation on Markel Starks’s three-pointer.
Moments later, though, the Hoyas lost their top defender and most energetic reserve when Jabril Trawick picked up his fifth foul via a technical after exchanging words with Sir’DominicPointer. St. John’s center Chris Obekpa also was assessed a technical, but it was the Hoyas who were unable to regroup in matching their most lopsided loss this season.
Sophomore guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera led Georgetown with 15 points, and Trawick added 13 before going to the bench for good with 6:10 to play. Once there, the senior forward had his left eye examined and a towel over it the remainder of the game.
Junior guard D’Angelo Harrison and Rysheed Jordan each scored a game-high 24 points for the Red Storm, which won for the fifth straight time and for the eighth time in nine games. St. John’s also avenged its most lopsided loss this season when it fell to Georgetown, 77-60, on Jan. 4.
Georgetown was on its heels immediately after tip-off when Jordan scored the first seven points of the game. Sophomore forward JaKarr Sampson sank a jumper, and Harrison’s three-pointer made it an even dozen and got the partisan crowd even more involved.
After a foul shot and another layup, the onslaught finally ended for the Hoyas, whose first points came via a pair of free throws from Trawick. Soon after, Georgetown followed with a three-pointer from Starks from the left side that drew the Hoyas within 12 points.
Georgetown twice clawed within 10 points before intermission, the first time on backup forward Aaron Bowen’s floater in the lane and the next when Smith-Rivera drove into the teeth of the defense before getting a short jumper to rattle around and through the rim.
But St. John’s (17-9, 7-6) closed with six consecutive points, capped by Pointer’s offensive rebound and basket that made it 46-28 heading into the locker room amid roars of approval from the St. John’s faithful adorned in a sea of red.
The Hoyas last came to the world’s most famous arena in near dire straits following a five-game losing streak. Their NCAA tournament hopes had taken a major hit amid personnel issues that forced Thompson to elevate backups into starting roles and play reserves more minutes than they had been accustomed over the first half of the season.
Most prominently absent during the skid was Trawick, who broke his jaw Jan. 8 during a 70-52 loss to Providence at Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The junior missed the next five games, and it wasn’t until the first of this month when he was able to play extended minutes against then-No. 7 Michigan State in a nonconference game at the Garden.
Georgetown outlasted the Spartans, 64-60, before winning its next three in the Big East to climb back to .500 entering the second game of the regular season series against its longtime conference opponent. That winning streak was the Hoyas’ second longest this season.
