St. John's University Athletics
Tuesday, January 14
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
7:30 p.m.
St. John's University
15-3,6-1Big East
63
vs
58
Georgetown
12-5,3-3Big East
1
2
F
Georgetown
37
21
58
St. John's (NY)
27
36
63
RV/RV St. John’s Rallies From 14-Point Second Half Deficit to Sink Georgetown, 63-58
1/14/2025 11:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm engineered crucial 19-2 scoring run to mount comeback in the latter stanza
NEW YORK – The St. John's men's basketball team (15-3, 6-1 BIG EAST) orchestrated a furious comeback after trailing by as many as 14 in the second half to sink Georgetown (12-5, 3-3 BIG EAST), 63-58, on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Red Storm engineered a pivotal 19-2 run early in the latter stanza to down the Hoyas. The Johnnies moved to 6-1 in BIG EAST competition for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign and are off to its best record through 18 games since the 1985-86 squad led by Lou Carnesecca started with a 16-2 mark 39 years ago.
St. John's put on another display of second half dominance, outscoring the Hoyas by 15, 36-21, in the second half. The Red Storm are 5-1 this season when trailing at the break and have outscored opponents by an average margin of 9.4 points per game in the latter stanza. The Johnnies dominated the boards over the final 20 minutes, outrebounding the visitors, 28-18, in the second half.
RJ Luis Jr. scored a team-high 19 points to pace the Red Storm offensively. The junior tallied his 17th double-figure scoring effort in 18 appearances this season. Over his last four games, the Miami, Fla., native has averaged 21.8 points per contest.
Aaron Scott was in the groove from long-range, nailing four 3-pointers to finish with 14 points. The forward pulled down nine rebounds, his highest mark in conference play, and shot 4-for-7 from deep.
Zuby Ejiofor nearly recorded a double-double, tallying 10 points and nine rebounds in Midtown Manhattan. Kadary Richmond was all over the court, logging 10 points, all in the second half. The graduate student notched a season-high eight assists and three steals in the winning effort.
The Red Storm defense held Georgetown to just 21 points on 32.1 percent (9-28) shooting in the latter half and forced 19 turnovers while tallying 10 steals.
St. John's has now won eight consecutive meetings against its longtime rival Georgetown, which marks the longest win streak in the series since it won 10-straight games over the Hoyas from 1949-72.
Georgetown's Micah Peavy played all 40 minutes and led all scorers with 21 points at the World's Most Famous Arena.
In the opening minutes, the Red Storm defense overwhelmed the Hoyas, forcing a turnover on each of the first three possessions. After Simeon Wilcher recorded the opening bucket, Georgetown responded with a roaring 17-1 run to take a commanding lead. The run was eventually halted by an Ejiofor two-handed slam.
As the Hoyas continued to hold a double-digit lead, Lefteris Liotopoulos provided a boost off the bench, nailing a triple off a dish by Richmond. The momentum began to sway in the final minutes of the opening half after Luis Jr. kissed a lay-in off the glass, followed by Scott banking in a triple from the top of the key to bring the deficit to 10. In the final minute with the Hoyas leading by 12, Luis Jr. knocked down a jumper from the charity stripe. On the final possession of the stanza, the junior made a highlight-reel swat to keep the deficit at 10, 37-27, heading into the break. The Hoyas led by as many as 15 in the opening half.
In the second stanza, the Hoyas expanded their advantage to 14, 41-27, before a corner triple from RJ Luis Jr. began a roaring comeback. Richmond came up with a pivotal play as he finished through contact and Scott drilled another triple to cut it to six, 41-35. As the Red Storm continued to battle back, Scott flushed his fourth triple of the night to give the Red Storm its first lead since the 17:56 mark in the first half and send the Garden crowd into a frenzy. An Ejiofor tip-in completed a 19-2 scoring stretch to give the Johnnies a 3-point edge, 46-43, with 12:26 remaining in regulation
The two sides went back-and-forth as Georgetown responded with a 7-0 scoring run of its own to reclaim a four-point lead, 50-46. St. John's punched back as Richmond knotted the scoreline at 50 with a runner. The Johnnies forced a five-second violation before four makes at the charity stripe put St. John's ahead, 54-50, concluding an 8-0 run. Down four with under three minutes to play, the Hoyas' Malik Mack put down a crucial 3-pointer to make it a one-point game, 56-55. Wilcher put the contest on ice with a clutch contested three to balloon the advantage back to four, 59-55, with 2:07 remaining. The Red Storm defense made a pair of crucial stops allowing the Johnnies to secure its 10th win in their last 11 contests.
St. John's will get back on the road and make the short trip to Seton Hall for a Saturday night contest in Newark at 8 p.m. on FS1.
The Red Storm engineered a pivotal 19-2 run early in the latter stanza to down the Hoyas. The Johnnies moved to 6-1 in BIG EAST competition for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign and are off to its best record through 18 games since the 1985-86 squad led by Lou Carnesecca started with a 16-2 mark 39 years ago.
St. John's put on another display of second half dominance, outscoring the Hoyas by 15, 36-21, in the second half. The Red Storm are 5-1 this season when trailing at the break and have outscored opponents by an average margin of 9.4 points per game in the latter stanza. The Johnnies dominated the boards over the final 20 minutes, outrebounding the visitors, 28-18, in the second half.
RJ Luis Jr. scored a team-high 19 points to pace the Red Storm offensively. The junior tallied his 17th double-figure scoring effort in 18 appearances this season. Over his last four games, the Miami, Fla., native has averaged 21.8 points per contest.
Aaron Scott was in the groove from long-range, nailing four 3-pointers to finish with 14 points. The forward pulled down nine rebounds, his highest mark in conference play, and shot 4-for-7 from deep.
Zuby Ejiofor nearly recorded a double-double, tallying 10 points and nine rebounds in Midtown Manhattan. Kadary Richmond was all over the court, logging 10 points, all in the second half. The graduate student notched a season-high eight assists and three steals in the winning effort.
The Red Storm defense held Georgetown to just 21 points on 32.1 percent (9-28) shooting in the latter half and forced 19 turnovers while tallying 10 steals.
St. John's has now won eight consecutive meetings against its longtime rival Georgetown, which marks the longest win streak in the series since it won 10-straight games over the Hoyas from 1949-72.
Georgetown's Micah Peavy played all 40 minutes and led all scorers with 21 points at the World's Most Famous Arena.
In the opening minutes, the Red Storm defense overwhelmed the Hoyas, forcing a turnover on each of the first three possessions. After Simeon Wilcher recorded the opening bucket, Georgetown responded with a roaring 17-1 run to take a commanding lead. The run was eventually halted by an Ejiofor two-handed slam.
As the Hoyas continued to hold a double-digit lead, Lefteris Liotopoulos provided a boost off the bench, nailing a triple off a dish by Richmond. The momentum began to sway in the final minutes of the opening half after Luis Jr. kissed a lay-in off the glass, followed by Scott banking in a triple from the top of the key to bring the deficit to 10. In the final minute with the Hoyas leading by 12, Luis Jr. knocked down a jumper from the charity stripe. On the final possession of the stanza, the junior made a highlight-reel swat to keep the deficit at 10, 37-27, heading into the break. The Hoyas led by as many as 15 in the opening half.
In the second stanza, the Hoyas expanded their advantage to 14, 41-27, before a corner triple from RJ Luis Jr. began a roaring comeback. Richmond came up with a pivotal play as he finished through contact and Scott drilled another triple to cut it to six, 41-35. As the Red Storm continued to battle back, Scott flushed his fourth triple of the night to give the Red Storm its first lead since the 17:56 mark in the first half and send the Garden crowd into a frenzy. An Ejiofor tip-in completed a 19-2 scoring stretch to give the Johnnies a 3-point edge, 46-43, with 12:26 remaining in regulation
The two sides went back-and-forth as Georgetown responded with a 7-0 scoring run of its own to reclaim a four-point lead, 50-46. St. John's punched back as Richmond knotted the scoreline at 50 with a runner. The Johnnies forced a five-second violation before four makes at the charity stripe put St. John's ahead, 54-50, concluding an 8-0 run. Down four with under three minutes to play, the Hoyas' Malik Mack put down a crucial 3-pointer to make it a one-point game, 56-55. Wilcher put the contest on ice with a clutch contested three to balloon the advantage back to four, 59-55, with 2:07 remaining. The Red Storm defense made a pair of crucial stops allowing the Johnnies to secure its 10th win in their last 11 contests.
St. John's will get back on the road and make the short trip to Seton Hall for a Saturday night contest in Newark at 8 p.m. on FS1.
Team Stats
GTown
SJU
FG%
.414
.348
3FG%
.214
.333
FT%
.700
.643
RB
44
38
TO
19
10
STL
9
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard/Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard/Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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