Three takeaways from St. John’s men’s basketball’s dramatic win over Georgetown

· Yahoo Sports

Mar 3, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Georgetown Hoyas center Julius Halaifonua (11) drives against St. John's Red Storm forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) in the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

After the Senior Night ceremony, at which five seniors, Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins, Dillon Mitchell, Oziyah Sellers, and Handje Tamba were recognized with family members present, the Johnnies left the court. When they returned, Zuby Ejiofor led them into a layup drill. No dunk, no reverse layup, just a simple finger roll in the style a ten-year-old would demonstrate. This last regular-season game for Ejiofor was going to be all business.

First Half

The starting lineup remained the same as the one that started the Villanova game: Dylan Darling, Dillon Mitchell, Oziyah Sellers, Bryce Hopkins, and Zuby Ejiofor.

The Johnnies got off to a solid start with Ejiofor winning the opening jump. Eight seconds later, Hopkins drew a foul on a layup. He made one of two shots, and St. John’s had an early lead.

Georgetown responded to take a 4-1 lead at the 18:43 mark. In response, Ejiofor dunked the ball 15 seconds later off a Hopkins assist to drop the lead to one. Shortly thereafter, graduate student Jeremiah Williams hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to four.

The Red Storm was looking to feed Ejiofor early in the game, and this time it was Mitchell feeding him at the top of the key. Ejiofor faked a three-pointer and drove down the paint as defenders tried to pick him up. His layup dropped the Hoya’s lead to two.

Early on, it was the Williams-Ejiofor contest until Darling joined in with a three from the top of the key. Then Kayvaun Mulready of Georgetown hit a three-pointer. Darling responded with a second three from the left wing at 13:06, cutting the Hoya lead back to one.

At the ten-minute mark, Georgetown pulled ahead by six, 23-17. Scoring for the second ten minutes of the half dwindled, and by half’s end the score favored the Hoyas 34-26.

Halftime

Fans were not silent during the half. They had problems understanding the Johnnies’ inconsistency from the disastrous second Connecticut game to the joy of the Villanova game to the first half when the team scoring was Ejiofor (8 points), Darling (8 points), and everyone else (6 points). Careless passes led to steals by the Hoyas, and they took advantage by sprinting down the court for easier opportunities. Georgetown had four turnovers in the half; the Johnnies had six. The Hoyas had 17 rebounds, while the Johnnies had 15. Georgetown shot 50% and the Johnnies were a poor 27%. Outplayed by the Hoyas was the only assessment that could be made.

Second Half

The Johnnies opened the scoring in the second half with a give-and-go from Sellers to Hopkins and back to Sellers, and the lead was down to six. Then Ejiofor stole the ball and fed Darling, who returned the ball to Ejiofor for a dunk. Suddenly, cheers of “Defense” filled the Garden.

But the Hoyas were not going away. Ultimate high scorer for the Hoyas, Mulready, hit a jumper extending the lead to 36-32, then followed with a long triple extending the lead to seven. Joson Sanon and Ian Jackson returned to the game and, soon after, the game began to turn.

Mulready hit three of three field goals to extend the lead to ten with fifteen to play. Johnnies fans were asking, “Who is going to guard that guy?” The Hoyas were up by ten, 44-34. A Mack layup at 14:08 extended the lead to a dozen, and even the most optimistic of fans began wondering if this wasn’t the Red Storm’s night. Ruben Prey, in for Ejiofor, and Mitchell began hitting the boards with intensity, and a Jackson layup cut the lead to nine, 48-39. It was starting to get loud in the Garden as fans were on their feet, cheering on the Red Storm.

Jackson was fouled and converted two free throws, and the lead was down to eight. Former Johnny Vince Iwuchukwu dunked the ball off a Mack feed, and the lead was back at ten with 12:20 to play. “Still plenty of time,” a fan assured his companion.

Fifteen seconds later, Sanon hit a three off a Prey feed. The lead was now seven. The teams traded baskets, then Sanon hit his second three. The lead was down to four with plenty of time to catch up.

Mack hit a 17-footer, and the lead was back to six. Ejiofor was back in the game and picked up where he left off, putting back a Hopkins miss for a three-point opportunity. He made his free throw, and the lead was down to two. At this moment of the game, the Hoyas were converting 49 percent of their shots while the Johnnies were hitting 37 percent. However, the Johnnies were assisting on 17 of 20 field goal attempts. The ball was moving, and a new player was joining Ejiofor to help carry the team.

With the game tied at 57, Darling stole the ball from Williams and drove hard to the Hoya basket, laying the ball in. For the first time since they were up 15-14 at the 12:09 mark of the first half, the Red Storm was ahead. Shortly after Georgetown again retook the lead, which it had earlier held for eighteen minutes.

Ejiofor began to drive and then hit an open Joson Sanon for the triple, and the lead was 61-57 with six minutes to play. The teams jostled back and forth for five minutes, and with 16 seconds left, Williams hit a driving layup and was fouled to bring the Hoyas to within one.

With the chance to knot the game up, Williams missed the and-one free throw. Hopkins took down the rebound, and the Johnnies held on, winning 72-69.

Takeaway #1: St. John’s needs more consistent guard play

Darling provided some offense in the first half and produced a timely steal and layup to give St. John’s the lead in the second half. Jackson and Sellers also did their part, but it was Sanon who truly stepped up. He scored all 15 of his points in the second half to spark the comeback.

The Johnnies are four deep in the backcourt with an occasional three-point spark from Liotopoulos.

The skills are present, and the Johnnies state that they see them regularly in practice. Recently, the team seems to identify one teammate to step up each game. It was Jackson against Villanova and Sanon against the Hoyas.

The guards’ defense appears to be improving, and they are beginning to assist on the defensive boards. Darling is playing his assignment “chest to chest”, a goal Rick Pitino expressed.

But the inconsistency is a concern. Will there always be a backcourt player who will step up and carry the team along with Ejiofor? Someone, perhaps two, has to hit jump shots consistently so that teams cannot simply play a “collapse on Zuby” defense. If there is a game in which no backcourt player steps up, the Red Storm may be in trouble during the coming tournaments.

Takeaway #2: The Red Storm continued moving the ball well, but the defense left much to be desired

The Johnnies assisted on 22 of their 26 made shots—84 percent. At the half, the ratio was ten assists for eleven made shots. Despite the almost 9-to-1 assisted-to-unassisted makes-to-unassisted makes ratio, the Red Storm trailed 34-26.

Ball movement, seemingly strong, was not the key ingredient. The Johnnies converted 35 percent of their shots and only 23 percent on threes. What was lacking? Giving up 50% on Hoya field goal attempts in the first half was not predictive of victory. In the first half, the Hoyas only had four turnovers to the Johnnies’ six.

Takeaway #3: When the going got tough, St. John’s got going again

During the first half, the Johnnies were beaten down the court on numerous occasions, and the Hoyas had more fastbreak baskets than the Johnnies. The defense would play tight and force long-range shots with time running out, but the Hoyas kept converting these shots.

The Johnnies hung in. They turned the game around in the last thirteen minutes. Sanon got hot. Ejiofor did what he usually does. The defense tightened and changed the course of the game. After Malik Mack gave Georgetown a 48-36 lead with fourteen minutes left, the Hoyas shot 41 percent the rest of the way. They finished with five turnovers and only one offensive rebound.

Yet, against a better team, this performance would probably result in a loss.

Rick Pitino summarized that the team needs to be mentally ready for every game. In the Big East tournament, teams will face opponents they’ve already played twice. All teams are making adjustments, and the planning, preparation, and effort are paramount for the Red Storm. Against a superior team, whether at the Garden or in the NCAA Tournament, the Johnnies cannot afford to play less than 100 percent inspired defense for the entire game. The Johnnies have capable substitutes available to give their starters the needed breaks.

Outlook

Once again, St. John’s must take it one game at a time. Be prepared, as Seton Hall is a capable team. The Pirates are well-coached with a tough defense that would love nothing more than to drag the Red Storm into a rock fight. The Johnnies must be prepared with inspired defense and continue to be teammate-focused on offense. This combination is the formula for victory this Friday evening at Seton Hall.

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