Hoyas report

Yesterday at Madison Square Garden in New York

KEY NUMBER

84.8 Free throw percentage for St. John’s. The Red Storm entered as the worst team from the line in the Big East (60.8) but made 28 of 33 foul shots.

SEEN AND HEARD

RETURN TO SENDER: Georgetown fans outnumbered the St. John’s faithful by a rough estimate of 2-1, which was evident during every TV timeout. At every break in the action, the Red Storm cheerleaders launched dozens of St. John’s T-shirts into the crowd only to have a handful come raining back at them accompanied by derisive applause from the blue and gray backers.

ANTI-HERO: Junior guard Ashanti Cook experienced an afternoon worthy of a Southwest Airlines commercial. During Georgetown’s first surge of the second half, Cook could have cut the lead to 10 points, only to have his breakaway layup blocked. He peeled himself off the floor, raced to the other end and fouled Daryll Hill as he made a 3-pointer. Hill completed the rare four-point play. And one defensive possession later, Cook fouled Dexter Gray on a successful baseline explosion to the hoop, completing a 9-point swing in St. John’s favor in exactly 47 seconds. Cook saved his worst for last, executing a bear hug on Hill during a breakaway that resulted in an intentional foul with Georgetown down just 64-58 and 2:16 remaining.

— Barker Davis