It was ugly.
It was clunky.
It was, at times, equal parts frustrating and exasperating.
It was also classic 2024-25 St. John’s, because it ended with the Johnnies on the right side of the win column. They have begun to master the art of winning ugly.
This 63-58 victory over Georgetown in front of an enthusiastic 12,757 at the Garden certainly was not pretty.
St. John’s was without its engine, injured point guard Deivon Smith, and it showed.
They trailed by as many as 14 points in each half, were held to four points in transition and shot 34.8 percent from the field.
But, again, they were the tougher team in winning time. They got the necessary stops and made key plays on the offensive end.
And now this team has improved to 6-1 in league play for the first time since 1998-99.
St. John’s hasn’t had a better start to a season through 18 games since it was 16-2 in 1985-86, and has now won 10 of its past 11 games.
“Being in New York City and playing well and winning, you get the whole New York City to back you and that’s kind of what’s happening right now,” sophomore guard Simeon Wilcher said. “We’re really excited for the rest of the season, just to see the things that we can do.”
Kadary Richmond and RJ Luis both delivered key baskets in the final 50 seconds and the Johnnies defense was at its best after halftime, holding Georgetown to 32.1 percent shooting, 21 points and nine turnovers.
As he did in Saturday’s win over Villanova, Wilcher shook off a bad shooting night by hitting a monster shot, a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to four with 2:07 remaining.
And he added to that by coming up with a clutch steal in the final seconds as Georgetown (12-5, 3-3) was trying to rally.
“My favorite play of the night was the [steal] he got and RJ blocked the shot next,” coach Rick Pitino said.
This was another example of this St. John’s (15-3, 6-1) team handling adversity well.
Without Smith, their transition game was mostly nonexistent. The offense never really got into a rhythm. They were hammered on the glass in the first half.
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It didn’t matter. St. John’s outscored Georgetown 17-8 over the final 9:25, dominating crunch time as in recent wins over Providence, Butler and Villanova.
“For St. John’s not to be ranked, I don’t know who some of these voters are, [but] you’re blind. Wake up,” Georgetown coach Ed Cooley said. “That’s one of the best teams we’ve played all year. Anyone behind that iron mic who has a vote, wake your ass up.”
Luis had 19 points, Aaron Scott followed with 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals, and Richmond added 10 points and eight assists.
Zuby Ejiofor notched 10 points and nine rebounds. Micah Peavy had 21 points for Georgetown, which was in complete control at halftime, up by 10 points.
That lead quickly expanded to 14 early in the second half. At that point, Richmond was scoreless. After committing back-to-back turnovers in the first half — his only turnovers in 35 minutes — he was given a quick hook.
Richmond was a different player in the second half — more assertive, more focused and better on the defensive end.
He scored all 10 of his points after intermission, and it was his runner in the lane that pushed the lead to five with 50.8 seconds to go that really iced this victory.
Teammates made similarly impactful plays over the final 20 minutes.
“Tonight winning was more important than any individual achievement, because RJ didn’t play well,” Pitino said. “Nobody played well. Kadary had his spurts, but nobody played well. But they put winning [above everything else].”
“It wasn’t our best night. It wasn’t a Rembrandt. But they have a strong desire to win, and as a coach I can’t appreciate that any more.”