By Dylan Butler
Had that been the case, the Red Storm might be 2-0 in the Big East.For a second consecutive conference game, the Johnnies fell apart in the final 10 minutes, dropping a 79-65 decision to Georgetown at Madison Square Garden Sunday night. On Jan. 4, the Red Storm blew a 20-point second half lead in a 69-61 overtime loss to Seton Hall.”I told our guys we played great for 30 minutes and then for 10 minutes it was a situation where we got a little undisciplined,” St. John's coach Norm Roberts said. “We've got to learn to be more disciplined.”After cutting the Hoyas' lead to 55-54 on an alley-oop from Cedric Jackson to Ryan Williams with 11:44 left in the second half, St. John's (7-6, 0-2 Big East) went a paralyzing 7:36 without scoring. During that time, Georgetown (10-2, 2-0) went on a 16-0 run that ended on another Williams dunk, this time a facial given to Amadou Kilkenny-Diaw.By then, though, the Red Storm was down 71-56 and instead of being a spark, Williams' lefty slam provided a momentary respite in another collapse down the stretch.”I think what happens is that we're young and inexperienced and when we turn it over we think, 'We've got to get back right away,'” Roberts said. “And it's like, 'Slow down guys. It's a two-point game. We're ok.'”To beat John Thompson III's Princeton offense, Roberts said two things need to happen: limit back-door cuts and guard the perimeter. St. John's did a good job with the former but led by Darrel Owens, the Hoyas destroyed the Red Storm from beyond the arc.Georgetown shot 58.1 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range. Owens had 24 points and buried half of the Hoyas' season-high 12 three-pointers.”Darrel can do that,” Thompson said of Owens, who averages eight points per game. “It's not necessarily abnormal.”It's quite a turnaround from last year when Georgetown shot 19 percent (4-of-21) from three-point range in a 76-67 loss, its sixth straight to St. John's at MSG.”We played them here last year and we got the exact same shots but we missed,” Thompson said. “Tonight it went in.”Anthony Mason Jr. and Aaron Spears had 14 points apiece and Lamont Hamilton added 10 for the Red Storm, which played a fourth straight game without star guard Daryll Hill. The former Cardozo standout is listed day-to-day with a left knee injury.Despite the 0-2 start in the Big East, riding a 25-game road losing streak to South Florida and a game against Rick Pitino's Louisville Tuesday on the horizon, it's not panic mode for the Red Storm.”Nobody likes to lose but when you're playing against teams like Georgetown, they have a lot of dudes who played together longer than we have,” Eugene Lawrence said. “It's going to take a process for us to win games together.”After playing at South Florida Saturday, the Red Storm hosts No. 10 Louisville at Madison Square Garden Tuesday at 9 p.m. Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
