St. John’s Rolls to a 90-77 Road Win over Georgetown

Thursday, February 3

Washington, D.C. (McDonough Arena)

6 p.m.

St. John's University

12-9, 4-6BE

Georgetown

6-14, 0-9BE

St. John's

Georgetown

St. John’s Rolls to a 90-77 Road Win over Georgetown

2/3/2022 9:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Julian Champagnie explodes for 27 points to help St. John’s complete regular season sweep of the Hoyas

WASHINGTON – The St. John's men's basketball team emphatically put another tally in the win column on Thursday night in Washington, defeating Georgetown, 90-77, inside McDonough Arena.

St. John's, which never trailed in the game and led by as many as 26 in the second half, won against the Hoyas in Washington for just the second time since 2003 and improved to 2-1 in its last three BIG EAST road games overall. The Red Storm, which completed a regular season sweep of Georgetown on Thursday, never trailed in 80 minutes of action this season against its longtime BIG EAST rival.

After failing to reach double figures in four straight games, Julian Champagnie snapped that skid in authoritative fashion on Georgetown's campus. The second leading scorer in the BIG EAST posted 27 points on 9-of-20 shooting, including a 6-of-12 showing from beyond the arc, while chipping in six boards and four assists. His six triples matched a career-high set earlier this year against Indiana and Kansas.

Joel Soriano had arguably his best effort of BIG EAST play, scoring 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting and grabbing nine boards. The Red Storm's leading shot blocker also matched a career-high with four rejections.

Aaron Wheeler chipped in 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, reaching double figures for the eighth time in his last nine games. Dylan Addae-Wusu added 11 points for the Red Storm (12-9, 4-6 BIG EAST).

The fifth Johnnie in double figures, Posh Alexander was once again the Red Storm's spark plug in nearly every facet of the game. Two days after setting a pair of career-highs with 29 points and 12 assists against Providence, Alexander filled the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. The Brooklyn native entered the contest leading the BIG EAST and ranking sixth nationally with 2.4 thefts per outing.

As a team, St. John's shot 50.7 percent from the floor and assisted on 21 of its 35 made baskets. The Johnnies turned over the ball just nine times and outrebounded the Hoyas, 44-40, marking the fourth straight game that the Johnnies closed with an edge on the boards.

The Red Storm broke the game open early, using a 7-0 tear to climb ahead by nine, 15-6, on a Esahia Nyiwe slam with less than six minutes gone in the contest.

Georgetown (6-14, 0-9 BIG EAST) slowly narrowed the deficit to three before a 9-2 Red Storm run late in the half put the Johnnies up by double digits for the first time, 45-35, with a minute to play. A well-balanced effort, five different Johnnies combined for five buckets on the burst.

Leading by seven at the break, the Red Storm kicked off the second half with a 10-0 run, as Soriano started with back-to-back buckets before Champagnie knocked down consecutive triples to stretch the advantage to 17, 55-38.

Ahead 57-44 with five minutes gone in the half, St. John's went off on another run, this time of the 12-2 variety, to move ahead by 23, 69-46, on an O'Mar Stanley layup with 9:45 remaining.

The Red Storm extended its lead to as many as 26 before the Hoyas went off on one last burst down the stretch, pulling within 11 thanks to a 21-6 run over the course of just four minutes. Out of a timeout, St. John's responded with six straight to quell the threat and seal the victory.

St. John's will return to action on Saturday with a 12 p.m. tip at Butler. The Red Storm will look to grab its first win in Hinkle Fieldhouse since the 2013-14 campaign.