Rick Pitino tried Danis Jenkins, Nahiem Alleyne and Glen Taylor Jr. for Georgetown’s dynamic point guard Jaden Epps.
None of this could slow him down.
So, with the Johnnies’ lead down to one point and the fate of the NCAA Tournament at stake, Pitino gave the task to talented wing RJ Lewis.
A wayward sophomore may have saved St. John’s season.
He not only shut down Epps early on, but had two assists and six points in the final seven minutes as the Red Storm won their fifth straight, 86-78, to close out the regular season Saturday at the Garden. afternoon.
Lewis’ contributions on both ends were key to a 13-4 run that gave St. John’s enough cushion to survive.
If Villanova wins against Creighton or Providence loses to Connecticut, the Johnnies will be the No. 5 seed in next week’s Big East Tournament.
The win was their 11th conference win, the most since the 2010-11 season.
In perhaps his best game as a Johnny, Lewis had 16 points, three steals, and two assists.
Danis Jenkins had 23 points and seven assists, and Chris Ledlum had a point and four rebounds.
Epps scored 23 points for Georgetown.
The first half started just as St. John’s (19-12, 11-9) had hoped, taking a 10-0 lead.
Georgetown’s first points didn’t come until 4 minutes and 30 seconds into the game on Ismael Massoud’s 3-pointer.
But the other half didn’t go nearly as planned.
Dingle and Simeon Wilcher both picked up two quick fouls and were out for most of the first 20 minutes.
The Hoyas got the bonus before the U-12 media timeout. Epps continued to play well against St. John’s, scoring 13 points in the first half.
The Red Storm were outscored by seven points and had just two offensive rebounds, which is unusual for one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country.
Joel Soriano struggled offensively, missing 5 of 6 free throws.
Jenkins was the only St. John’s player to score in double figures with 13 points, while Ledlum and Nahiem Alleyne each had six points.
Alleyne gave Johnny a boost going into intermission, hitting a deep 3-pointer with seconds left to send them into the locker room with a four-point lead.
But it didn’t carry over. St. John’s couldn’t shake Georgetown.
Twice they led by as many as seven, but the Hoyas fought back each time.
Epps’ consecutive drives made it a one-point game, forcing Pitino to call a timeout with 7 minutes, 43 seconds left.
