Shamorie Ponds scored 24 points and St. John's hung on to beat visiting Georgetown 86-80 on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

St. John's led for most of the second half and fended off a late Hoyas push to earn a season split between the teams. Georgetown went on a 7-0 run to make it 78-77, but could not get closer.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Red Storm (13-16, 7-9 Big East) and was their third consecutive win at Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, it was the fifth loss in sixth tries for the Hoyas (14-15, 5-11), who slid under .500.

Ponds, a freshman guard, shot 10-for-15 from the floor and his point total pushed him over 500 for the season. He's the third freshman in St. John's history to hit the 500-point mark.

Junior Bashir Ahmed and sophomore Federico Mussini each scored 16 for the Red Storm, who shot 44.3 percent from the floor.

Senior guard Rodney Pryor led the Hoyas with 22 points and junior L.J. Peak added 20.

Georgetown led 36-35 after a first half that featured 17-0 runs by both sides.

The Hoyas beat St. John's by nearly 30 points on Jan. 9, but Saturday's loss has them under .500 for the first time since they were 3-4 on Nov. 27. Georgetown, which went 15-18 last year, is in jeopardy of finishing under .500 for consecutive seasons for the first time under coach John Thompson III.

Both teams have two regular-season games remaining before the Big East tournament begins on March 8. Georgetown and St. John's could very well meet again at Madison Square Garden in the first round of the conference tournament.