Georgetown Beats St. John’s in a Double Overtime Thriller!

On the heels of a program-record 32-point loss on Wednesday night, the Georgetown Hoyas (13-6, 3-5 Big East) rebounded on Saturday afternoon, defeating the visiting St. John’s Red Storm (10-10, 0-8 Big East) in double overtime, 93-89.

The game was evenly contested from the opening tip. Jessie Govan was the first on the board with an uncontested layup just 14 seconds into the game after an excellent entry pass from Kaleb Johnson. Justin Simon and Tariq Owens quickly responded for the Johnnies before Pickett drilled his first 3-pointer of the game, giving his Hoyas a slim 5-4 advantage two-and-a-half minutes into the game.

From there, however, turnovers and poor shooting would dominate. Both teams failed to score in the following 3:42 and combined for eight turnovers during that stretch. Pickett broke the deadlock with a layup, but consecutive 3-pointers from Bryan Trimble Jr. and Ponds provided St. John’s with its second lead of the game midway through the half.

At the under-eight media timeout, the game was knotted at 15 apiece. Then, St. John’s, led by two 3-pointers from Marvin Clark II, went on a 9-2 run to open their largest lead of the game, 24-17. But Georgetown refused to go away, despite Govan being sidelined with three fouls.

Five points from Pickett in less than 30 seconds sparked the Georgetown offense in the final minutes of the half. The Hoyas utilized a 13-5 run, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Jahvon Blair with 52 seconds remaining, to take a slim 30-29 lead into the locker room.

Runs from teams defined the opening minutes of the second half. St. John’s opened the period with a quick 6-0 run before Georgetown responded with a 7-0 run of its own to regain the lead. Owens then tied the game at 37 apiece, spurring an 11-2 Red Storm run. Ponds drilled a 3-pointer and then two free throws a minute later to give St. John’s a 48-41 advantage with 12:17 remaining.

Georgetown slowly chipped away at this lead, though, as Pickett and Blair combined to hit clutch shots when the Hoyas needed them most. Blair’s 3-pointer with just over five minutes left in regulation put the Hoyas back in the driver’s seat. While they maintained the lead for the remainder of the game, layups from Bashir Ahmed and Ponds in the final minute tied the game at 69-69, where it would remain when the regulation buzzer sounded.

In the first overtime, St. John’s jumped out to a five-point lead with 24 seconds left, but fouled Derrickson on a 3-point attempt. He drilled all three of his attempts. Then, Ponds converted on 1-of-2 free throws after being intentionally fouled. Georgetown got the ball back, trailing 76-79, with 14 seconds remaining. The Hoyas found Derrickson, who scored all 10 of the team’s points in the first overtime, at the top of the lane, and the junior drilled a heavily-contested 3-pointer to tie the game and send the contest to a second bonus period.

The Hoyas were led by Marcus Derrickson’s career-high 27 points, 16 of which came after regulation, and 11 rebounds. Jamorko Pickett added 16 points and nine rebounds, both career-highs. St. John’s was led by a 33-point performance from Shamorie Ponds.

Derrickson added six points in the second overtime and Jagan Mosely added eight points, including an and-1 3-pointer, as Georgetown opened a sizable seven-point lead. The Red Storm, who were without Owens, Trimble Jr. and Clark II—each had fouled out—struggled to find offense early in the period, which ultimately doomed them. Mosely nailed a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game in the closing seconds.

Georgetown will host DePaul (8-10, 1-5 Big East) on Jan. 24, while St. John’s will host Creighton (15-4, 5-2 Big East) on Jan. 23.