By Dylan Butler
The only team picked to finish lower in the Big East conference than the Hoyas was St. John's. Both teams were under the direction of first-year coaches, both teams start three freshmen and both teams have surprised early on.Unlike ranked teams like North Carolina State and Pittsburgh, St. John's was not overlooked by an equally hungry Georgetown, which convincingly beat the Red Storm 66-57 in front of 7,864 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C.It was only the second win for Georgetown in the last 10 meetings with St. John's. The Red Storm, meanwhile, lost for the fifth time in its last six games and dropped to 0-6 on the road.As they did Saturday against undefeated Boston College, when they scored a season-high 48 points in the paint, St. John's (7-9, 1-5 Big East) attacked the basket early, scoring 8 of their first 10 points from inside.Led by Jeff Green, who scored 7 first half points on 5-of-7 shooting, Georgetown (13-5, 5-2) scored the final seven points of the first half to take a 31-27 lead.The Hoyas then took control of the game early in the second half, forcing 19 Red Storm turnovers on 13 steals and went on a 14-4 run to take a commanding 12-point lead, 52-40 on a 3-point play by Green with 9:45 left in the second half. The athletic 6-foot-8 freshman forward finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds and was one of three Hoyas to score in double figures.Daryll Hill led the Johnnies with 20 points, but had 9 turnovers. Lamont Hamilton (14 points) and Eugene Lawrence each fouled out late and St. John's, using a seven-man rotation, ran out of gas.”Nine turnovers isn't good,” Hill said. “That's me rushing.”Georgetown, which shot 50 percent from the field, was 11-for-19 from the foul line and made six more free throws than St. John's.”We're picking up a lot of silly (fouls),” St. John's coach Norm Roberts said. “We're reaching in after loose balls. You're going to foul no matter what in a hard, tough game but you can't pick up silly ones.”Boston College 79, St. John's 73. Hill had 21 points, Lawrence had 18, Hamilton had 14 and Ryan Williams added 12 for the Red Storm in a hard-fought loss Saturday night at Carnesecca Arena. Jaredy Dudley had 19 points and 8 rebounds, Jermaine Watson had 16 points, Louis Hinnant had 12 points and 6 assists and Craig Smith and Sean Marshall scored 10 poiints apiece for No. 9 Boston College (16-0, 5-0), one of three undefeated teams left in the country. It was the first time St. John's had hosted a top-10 team on campus since 1988, when the Johnnies lost to No. 9 Pittsburgh 88-71.The Red Storm host Seton Hall Saturday at 2 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
