WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's basketball team defeated visiting rival St. John's 97-94 in an overtime thriller for its first BIG EAST victory of the season on Sunday night. The Hoyas improve to 3-3 on the season, 1-1 in league play, while the Red Storm fall to 5-3 overall and 0-2 in conference action
 
ON THE RECORD
"We kept our composure. We could have easily let go of the rope when we went down eight points at the end of the game. We made so many mistakes to let them tie the game [but] we didn't put our head down. Coming into overtime, they went out but we still kept our composure, kept fighting." Head Coach Patrick Ewing on keeping competitive down the stretch
 
"Q had nine blocked shots. That's Mutombo, Ewing and Mourning numbers right there." Ewing on Qudus Wahab's career-high nine blocked shots
 
"I don't really care about stats, I'm just trying to do my business. I do whatever I can do to try to win. Whether it's to block shots, rebound or score … I just have to do it." Wahab on if he thinks about his statistics during the course of a game
 
"I'm proud of the guys that came off the bench. Dante got the start and I'm just proud of how [the other freshmen] produced and gave us a spark." Donald Carey on the production of the freshmen
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Four Hoyas scored in double figures, led by freshman Dante Harris with 22 points in his first career start. He went 8-of-9 from the free throw line, including hitting three in overtime, and also contributed two assists and three steals.
• Qudus Wahab narrowly missed out on a triple-double with a career-high 17 points, 10 rebounds and a career-best nine blocked shots. He was 7-of-9 from the floor.
• Jahvon Blair finished with 20 points, hitting a trio of 3-pointers, to go with five assists.
• Donald Carey had 19 points, also on 7-of-9 shooting, five rebounds and five assists.
• The Hoyas shot 54 percent (34-63) from the floor for the game, including hitting 47.8 percent (11-23) of their 3-pointers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Following an opening bucket off the tip from St. John's, the Hoyas went on a 12-3 run to lead 12-5 while holding their guest without another field goal until the 16:30 mark. The Red Storm slowly chipped away at the GU lead, eventually knotting things up at 18-18 and retaking the lead at 23-21 as part of a 7-0 spurt.
• Georgetown responded in turn, trading lead back-and-forth until a 7-0 run, capped by a Carey three, put the Blue & Gray up 28-25 with 8:26 to play. The Red Storm would lead once more in the half, up 31-28, but a 9-0 tear from the Hoyas courtesy of the tandem on Wahab and Carey gave GU a 37-33 advantage.
• Another Carey trifecta helped Georgetown maintain a 42-40 lead going into the locker room at halftime.
• A 15-4 run to open the second half gave St. John's a 55-46 lead, but the Hoyas rallied back and knotted things up at 60-60 courtesy of a T.J. Berger 3-pointer before reclaiming the lead with 9:17 remaining on a pair of free throws by Harris to go up 65-64.
• Another 13 ties and lead changes gave way to a thrilling end of regulation, with Georgetown overcoming a seven-point disadvantage with under two minutes to play. Harris sank a pair of free throws before Carey snared an offensive rebound and put back the layup to make it a three-point game (82-79). Following a Red Storm free throw, Wahab went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe, but Jamorko Pickett stole the inbounds pass and found Blair who drained the 3-pointer to tie things at 83.
• St. John's reclaimed the lead with a bucket, but it was Blair again who hit from beyond the arc to put the Hoyas up 86-85 with under a minute remaining.
• Another St. John's free throw tied the game but Carey was able to scoop in a layup with six seconds left to put GU back on top.
• The Red Storm were able to convert a last second basket to tie the game at 88 and send it into overtime.
• In the extra frame, the Red Storm scored the first four points to take a 92-88 lead but an 8-1 run, mainly from the charity stripe, gave the Hoyas a 96-93 lead with nine ticks remaining. Hitting the front end of a one-and-one, St. John's got its own rebound on the second shot but Wahab's ninth rejection of the game on the putback landed in Harris' hands as he sealed the game at the line.

 
OF NOTE

• Wahab's nine blocked shots were the most in a game for the Hoyas since Alonzo Mourning's nine against Delaware State on December 9, 1991.
• Georgetown's 97 points were the most in BIG EAST competition since a 103-90 victory over No. 2 Villanova on February 6, 2009.
• Blair's three 3-pointers give him 161 for his career, which ranks eighth all-time at Georgetown. Pickett's lone trey moved him into sole possession of 12th place with 146 made 3-pointers.
• Sunday's overtime game was the seventh in the 117-game series between Georgetown and St. John's.

 
UP NEXT FOR THE HOYAS
The Hoyas will head out on the road for the first time this season, traveling to Queens, N.Y. for a matchup against St. John's on Sunday, December 20. Tipoff at the Red Storm's Carnesecca Arena is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on FS1.
 
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During the month of December, all Georgetown Men's Basketball home games will be played at McDonough Arena. In accordance with Washington, D.C., regulations which limit the size of in-person gatherings, fans are regrettably not permitted to attend home games at this time.