Dannis Jenkins scored 23 points as host St. John’s ended its first regular season under coach Rick Pitino with an 86-78 victory over Georgetown on Saturday afternoon at New York.
The Red Storm (19-12, 11-9 Big East) clinched at least a sixth seed in the upcoming Big East tournament and won their fifth straight game since Pitino vented his frustration about his team following a loss to Seton Hall on Feb. 18.
Jenkins shot 7 of 11 from the field, hit eight free throws and handed out seven assists but also committed seven of the Red Storm’s 14 turnovers.
RJ Luis Jr. added 16 points and Chris Ledlum contributed 14 for the Red Storm, who shot 60.4 percent from the floor. Joel Soriano contributed nine points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, while missing six of nine attempts at the free-throw line.
Jayden Epps, who scored 31 in the first meeting between the teams, led the Hoyas (9-22, 2-18) with 23 points. He shot 9 of 23 from the floor and appeared to favor his lower back late in the second half.
Jay Heath added 14 and Drew Fielder contributed 12 as the Hoyas shot 45.8 percent and hit half of their 24 attempts from 3-point range.
Jenkins scored the first eight points of the game as St. John’s opened a 10-0 lead. The Hoyas took a 33-32 lead on a dunk by Fielder with 2:44 left in the half and St. John’s held a 39-35 lead by halftime after Nahiem Alleyne sank a deep 3-pointer with four seconds left.
Georgetown trailed 44-41 on a putback by Supreme Cook with 16:26 remaining in the game and 52-51 on a drive by Epps with 13:12 left, resulting in a 30-second timeout by Pitino.
Heath’s 3-pointer cut the Hoyas’ deficit to 57-56 with 9:46 left and consecutive jumpers by Jenkins opened the Red Storm lead to 61-56 a little over a minute later but another jumper by Epps kept it a one-point game with 7:50 left.
Soriano’s dunk with seven minutes left pushed the Red Storm’s lead to 65-60 and a dunk by Luis made it 69-62 with 4:25 left. St. John’s finally gained the separation in the final minutes, taking a 74-64 on Ledlum’s dunk and free throw with 3:39 left.
–Field Level Media
