NEW YORK – Despite leading for a majority of the second half, the Georgetown University men's basketball team could not stave off a surging St. John's squad after the Red Storm knocked down the game-winning triple with just four ticks left on the clock. Bryson Mozone was able to get a shot off at the buzzer but his attempt didn't go in as the Johnnies held on for the 75-73 victory.


ON THE RECORD
"We went to a zone to mix it up – something we haven't run today, so we thought it would throw [St. John's] off. We just didn't get a stop. Then at the end of the game we got a great shot. We executed the play to perfection, Bryson Mozone was wide open, it just didn't go in." - Head Coach Patrick Ewing on the final play
 
"This is a game we had opportunities to win … Turnovers, we had six turnovers at halftime, ended up with 15, had nine in the second half. We talked about in our scouting report, we have to limit their offensive rebounds - they got 20. Those are things that we have to be able to take care of. The turnover game, the offensive rebound games, then when you're up with three minutes to go, we have to take good shots, we have to not turn the ball over and even if we're not scoring, they can't score … You have to be able to defend without fouling and then take care of the ball." Ewing on the overall game
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Primo Spears led all scorers with 25 points on 10 made field goals, including a quartet of triples.
• Brandon Murray added 17 points on seven made field goals and a 2-for-2 effort from the charity stripe. He added four rebounds and a pair each of assists and steals.
• Wahab rounded out those in double figures with 14 points on a 5-for-7 effort from the floor.
• Wahab and Akok Akok each grabbed a squad-best seven rebounds while Akok matched his season high in blocks with five.
• Jordan Riley was able to tally a squad-best four steals.
• Georgetown (6-16, 1-10 BIG EAST) shot 43.8% (26-64) for the game while allowing the Johnnies 41.4% (29-70) shooting.
• St. John's outrebounded the Hoyas 44-39.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• St. John's (14-8, 4-7 BE) came out firing, taking an early 17-7 lead before the duo of Spears and Murray combined for six-straight points to pull the Hoyas within four.
• The Hoyas wouldn't go away, cutting it back to four once again (29-25) after Spears knocked down a jumper and Wayne Bristol Jr. backed it up with a layup.
• However, the Johnnies found momentum once again pulling ahead by 10 (35-25) but the Blue & Gray closed the frame on a 14-0 run fueled by a quartet of Hoyas tallying points, including Murray's stepback triple at the buzzer to give the Hoyas a 39-35 advantage.
• Despite SJU scoring first in the second frame, Wahab staged a 6-2 mini-run of his own to help GU pull ahead 45-39 (16:33).
• St. John's wouldn't go away and a cold shooting spell for the Hoyas coupled with free throws for the home team cut GU's lead to two (48-46) before Spears' jumper gave the Hoyas a bit of breathing room.
• SJU cut it to three but back-to-back traditional three-point plays from Bradley Ezewiro and then Murray pushed GU's lead to nine (62-53, 9:51).
• The Red Storm clawed its way back with an 11-2 run to knot the score at 64 before a Spears triple gave the Hoyas the lead once again.
• St. John's tied the game at 70 on a layup with 1:32 to play and took its first lead of the frame on a pair of free throws with 46.2 seconds on the clock before going on to win 75-73 at the final whistle.

 
UP NEXT
The Blue & Gray returns home for a matchup against the Creighton University Bluejays on Wednesday, February 1 at Capital One Arena. Tipoff in the District is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Tom McCarthy calling the play-by-play and Chris Walker providing analysis. Fans can hear the radio call of Rich Chvotkin, in his 49th season as the Voice of the Hoyas, locally on 99.1 FM and nationally on Sirius XM 381.