Rick Pitino tried Daniss Jenkins, Nahiem Alleyne and Glenn Taylor Jr. on Jayden Epps, Georgetown’s dynamic point guard.
None of them could slow him down.
So, with the Johnnies’ lead down to one and their NCAA Tournament fate hanging in the balance, Pitino gave his talented wing, RJ Luis, the assignment.
The mercurial sophomore may have saved St. John’s season.
Not only did he shut down Epps down the stretch, but he also had two assists and eight points in the final seven minutes, as the Red Storm won their fifth straight game, 86-78, to close out the regular season at the Garden on Saturday afternoon in front of 16,127.
“RJ doesn’t like to have on his résumé that he’s a great defensive player, but he saved us on the offensive glass, saved us with scoring and saved us with great defense on Epps,” Pitino said. “I’m real proud of him. He’s got unlimited potential in almost every phase of the game.
“He’s a great young man and I’m very excited the way he played tonight defensively.”
Luis’ contributions at both ends keyed a 13-4 run that gave St. John’s enough cushion to survive.
It included assists on easy baskets for Joel Soriano and Chris Ledlum, steals on consecutive possessions and a big dunk in transition that pushed the lead to seven with 4:48 to go.
“It was pretty cool, the crowd showed a lot of energy and I felt like that gave us more momentum on defense,” Luis said.
The win gives St. John’s (19-12, 11-9) the No. 5 seed in next week’s Big East Tournament and a bye into the quarterfinals. It will meet No. 4 Seton Hall Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
This was also the Johnnies’ 11th conference victory, their most since the 2010-11 season.
In arguably his best game as a Johnnie, Luis had 16 points, three steals and two assists in 22 minutes off the bench. Jenkins had 23 points and seven assists and Chris Ledlum added 14 points and four rebounds.
Epps scored 23 points for Georgetown (9-22, 2-18), which shot 50 percent from 3-point range (12-of-24) and won the battle on the glass by three.
He, however, managed just two free throws once Luis was switched onto him.
“His length bothers people. He’s not only 6-[foot]-7, but he has [a great] wingspan,” Pitino said. “RJ’s got a lot to learn about defense off the ball, but on the ball he’s very good and we weren’t able to stop Epps. We didn’t have to blitz, we didn’t have to trap. RJ made it very difficult on him.”
In this current winning streak, St. John’s has bookended narrow victories over Georgetown.
The other three wins were all by at least 14 points, helping Pitino’s team play its way onto the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to most projections, and its first trip to the dance since 2019
This was a lot more pressure, in a tight game against a team the Johnnies were supposed to crush.
There were understandably nerves, but when everything was on the line, they answered the bell, out-scoring the Hoyas by nine over the final 7:30.
“In crunch time, we did some really great things,” Pitino said.
As a result, St. John’s kept its tournament hopes alive.
It may need to win a game in the Big East Tournament to feel safe.
But for now, the Johnnies can take a breath and prepare for their next game, knowing they survived a scare Saturday and the dance is well within reach.
“To do it here, at a school like this, it would be all of our dreams,” Jenkins said. “Nobody thought we could do it this year, but we came together, tried to rally. I think we can do some damage if we get there.”
