No. 13 Georgetown 66, St. John’s 59: Hoyas Hold On To Win Big East Opener

Read more at our Georgetown blog, Casual Hoya.

December 31, 2009 – Washington, DC (Sports Network) – Chris Wright netted a game-high 21 points, as No. 13 Georgetown battled Big East rival St. John’s to a 66-59 decision in a hard-fought conference opener for both programs.

Austin Freeman and Greg Monroe each scored 15 points for the Hoyas, (10-1, 1-0 Big East), who held the Red Storm to two field goals over the final eight minutes to seal the win, their second straight since their lone loss to Old Dominion on December 19.

Dwight Hardy scored 14 points for St. John’s (10-3, 0-1), which had won four of five coming into the game. D.J. Kennedy and Justin Brownlee added 11 and 10 points, respectively, in defeat.

The Red Storm trailed for most of the game before Hardy’s three-ball polished off a 10-0 run near the midway point of the second half, giving the visitors their first lead, 51-50, since the opening minutes.

Hardy again nailed a three after Wright’s old-fashioned three-point play, but the Hoyas had an answer with seven consecutive points, with Jason Clark’s layup putting the hosts on top, 60-54, with a little over five minutes left.

Kennedy made it a one-possession game with a make from long range, and Hardy had a chance to tie it on the next possession but missed a three.

Monroe’s make inside put the Hoyas in front, 62-57, and the visitors were never within one possession the rest of the way.

Wright powered an early 18-4 Georgetown run with 12 points, six coming on a pair of makes from behind the arc. Julian Vaughn’s jumper capped the spurt with just over 11 1/2 minutes remaining for a 21-10 cushion.

St. John’s scored eight straight late in the half to pull within two, but Freeman’s late three-pointer yielded a 32-27 Hoyas lead at the break.

Georgetown continued to play front-runner and led 50-41 following a Monroe dunk eight minutes into the second stanza before St. John’s made a run.

Despite the loss, St. John’s owns a 52-41 advantage in the all-time series…Georgetown’s bench was outscored, 33-0, but the Hoyas made 51.0 percent of their shots to pull out the win…Monroe also had eight rebounds and five assists, while Vaughn went for eight points and nine boards in the win.