St. John's fades late against Georgetown
The ball bounces away as Georgetown's Otto Porter, top center, battles St. John's Moe Harkless (4), Phil Greene (1) and Sir'Dominic Pointer (15) for the rebound during second half of their NCAA college basketball game on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Washington. Georgetown defeated St. John's 71-61. (AP Photo/Richard Lipski) Credit: AP Photo/Richard Lipski
WASHINGTON -- For much of Sunday's game, it appeared as if St. John's was primed to pull off an upset. But the Red Storm's inability to guard the perimeter late spelled defeat in a 71-61 loss to No. 11 Georgetown at Verizon Center.
St. John's cut the deficit to a single possession seven times in the second half but never tied it. Georgetown countered with three three-pointers during the final six minutes to stop any possible momentum.
"Our defense, we gave them open shots and that hurt," Red Storm freshman guard D'Angelo Harrison said. "I think overall we played hard, but we couldn't get it done."
Harrison led St. John's with 24 points and freshman Moe Harkless had 20, including 14 in the second half. It wasn't enough to prevent the Red Storm's seventh loss in its last 10 games. St. John's (10-15, 4-9 Big East) also became the first team in the nation to lose 10 games to top 25 teams this season.
Despite a sluggish start, St. John's found a rhythm offensively to hang with the Hoyas (19-5, 9-4). In the first half, Harrison was effective at attacking the rim and hitting from the perimeter. He scored 10 points as St. John's went into halftime down 31-26.
Georgetown center Henry Sims, who was averaging 11.6 points, managed only one shot during the first 20 minutes. No Hoya was in double figures at halftime, as they shot only 38 percent from the floor.
The Red Storm opened the second half with an alley-oop dunk by Harkless off a pass from freshman Amir Garrett. Harkless continually found holes inside the Georgetown defense and began getting to the free-throw line almost at will.
St. John's cut the Hoyas' lead to 51-47 with 6:02 remaining after two free throws by Harrison, but Georgetown's Greg Whittington responded with a three-pointer. Two possessions later, Harrison's three-pointer made it 56-53 with 4:21 remaining. But on Georgetown's next possession, Jason Clark hit a three of his own and St. John's never threatened again.
Unlike in its 76-54 loss to Cincinnati on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, a game in which Harkless described his team's effort as "flat," St. John's showed the necessary intensity for all 40 minutes.
"I think everybody played hard and everybody fought," Harkless said. "That's a good sign. I don't know when it's going to happen, but we're going to win games."
