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No. 6 Georgetown looks to extend St. John's slide

Jan 30, 2008 - 3:57 PM No. 6 Georgetown (16-2) at St John's (7-11) 7:00 pm EST

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Fresh off a dramatic win at West Virginia, No. 6 Georgetown looks to keep rolling when it visits St. John's in a Big East Conference contest on Wednesday.

The Hoyas (16-2, 6-1 Big East), who have won eight of their last nine games, lead the nation in field-goal percentage defense (35.8 percent).

That defense was on display in Saturday's 58-57 victory at West Virginia, as 7-foot senior center Roy Hibbert blocked a layup at the buzzer to preserve the Hoyas' victory.

Hibbert leads Georgetown in scoring at 13.1 points per game while averaging 6.8 rebounds. He had 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks against the Mountaineers.

Sophomore forward DaJuan Summers contributes 10.8 points and 5.4 boards for the Hoyas, who have allowed 70 points or more only once all season - an 85-71 loss to top-ranked Memphis on December 22. Georgetown has hwon three straight since a 69-60 defeat at Pittsburgh.

St. John's (7-11, 1-6) is headed in the opposite direction, having lost five consecutive games. The Red Storm are 3-11 overall since opening the season with four wins.

Despite the losing streak, junior forward Anthony Mason Jr. has scored 29 points in each of St. John's last two games and leads the team in scoring (14.7ppg).

Freshman forward Justin Burrel averages 11.9 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Red Storm, who have a 50-38 edge in a series that dates to 1909.

"We have to get out of it as a team," St. John's coach Norm Roberts said. "There are no easy games. We have to battle through. We are playing one of the top teams in the country (Wednesday) night and we are going to have to play our very best."