Govan posted his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds. He made 7 of 19 shots and his only 3-pointer of the night (in three tries) when he spotted up from the top of the key and scored while St. John's Tariq Owens defended him.

The big night by the junior forward gave Patrick Ewing his first coaching victory over Chris Mullin. The former standouts for Georgetown and St. John's last opposed each other in a college game in the Final Four at Rupp Arena in Lexington in 1985.

Marcus Derrickson added 17 and eight rebounds for Georgetown (12-4, 2-3 Big East), which won despite shooting 33.3 percent (20 of 60). Jagan Mosely contributed 13 points for the Hoyas, who made 7 of 20 3-pointers and outrebounded St. John's 49-33.

Guard Shamorie Ponds led St. John's (10-7, 0-5) with 17 points and six rebounds. He shot 5 of 15 from the field as the Red Storm shot 37.7 percent (23 of 61) and missed 15 of 19 3-pointers.

Justin Simon added 16 points while Marvin Clark III contributed 15 as St. John's played without second-leading scorer Marcus Lovett. Lovett missed his 10th straight game with a knee injury.

Georgetown held a 57-49 lead on a 3-pointer by Mosely with 4:34 remaining but St. John's scored the next eight points and tied it at 57 on a dunk by Simon with 3:05 remaining.

The Hoyas held a five-point lead less than a minute later on a dunk by Mosely but St. John's forged a 64-64 deadlock with 50 seconds left on a drive by Simon.

Following a timeout, Govan sank his big shot and Jonathan Mulmore hit two free throws with 10 seconds left for the final margin. The game ended when Ponds shot an airball on a 3-point attempt as time expired.

--Field Level Media