The Georgetown Hoyas had something to prove Monday after starting their Big East schedule on the wrong foot in a road loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Hoyas were looking for a big win away from home, but the St. John's Red Storm were not going to provide such an opportunity.
Dwight Hardy's 20 points led all scorers and propelled the Red Storm to a 61-58 victory, sending Georgetown to a 1-2 record in conference play.
The Red Storm's win, their first against a ranked opponent in their last 15 tries, started a stretch of seven consecutive games against ranked opponents. It got off to a good start thanks to Hardy and Justin Brownlee, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists. These two would prove to be important down the stretch.
Georgetown's top three leading scorers, Austin Freeman, Jason Clark and Chris Wright, combined for 20 points, about 30 points below their combined averages. Hollis Thompson led the Hoyas with 16 points.
After finding themselves down by six at halftime, the Hoyas tied the game at 35-35 within the first few minutes. The back-and-forth game would continue throughout the second half, especially in the final minute.
Clark scored on a layup as the shot clock expired despite being fouled. Clark hit the free throw to give the Hoyas a 56-55 lead with 55 seconds left.
Hardy would respond with a reverse layup of his own to restore the Red Storm's lead, but Clark grabbed an offensive rebound on Georgetown's next possession and hit two free throws after being fouled with 23 seconds left.
Hardy would not be outdone again as he cut to the basket and missed a layup, but Brownlee was there for the putback to give St. John's the lead. Georgetown had one more chance, but lost the ball out of bounds. St. John's hit two free throws with three seconds left to end the game.
The Hoyas will face the West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday and will look for revenge against St. John's January 26 at Verizon Center.