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 six 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 Saturday afternoon.
Luis’ contributions at both ends keyed a 13-4 run that gave St. John’s enough cushion to survive.
If either Villanova beats Creighton or Providence loses to Connecticut, the Johnnies will be the fifth seed in next week’s Big East Tournament.
The win was also their 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.
Daniss Jenkins had 23 points and seven assists and Chris Ledlum added points and four rebounds.
Epps scored 23 for Georgetown.
The first half started as St. John’s (19-12, 11-9) hoped, with a 10-0 lead.
Georgetown’s first points didn’t come until 4:30 had elapsed, on an Ismael Massoud 3-pointer.
But the rest of the half didn’t go nearly as planned.
Dingle and Simeon Wilcher both picked up two quick fouls and sat most of the first 20 minutes.
The Hoyas were on the bonus by the under-12 media timeout. Epps had his way with St. John’s, scoring 13 first-half points.
The Red Storm were outrebounded by seven and managed just two offensive rebounds, rare for one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the country.
Joel Soriano struggled offensively, missing five of six free throws.
Jenkins was the only St. John’s player in double figures with 13, while Ledlum and Nahiem Alleyne each had six.
Alleyne gave the Johnnies some momentum entering the break, hitting a deep 3-pointer in the final seconds to send them into the locker room up four.
It, however, did not carry over. St. John’s couldn’t shake Georgetown.
It twice led by as many as seven, but the Hoyas responded every time.
It was just a one-point game after consecutive Epps drives, forcing a Pitino timeout with 7:43 left.
