Georgetown's Patrick Ewing, St. John's Chris Mullin
You toss out the names Chris Mullin and Patrick Ewing, St. John's and Georgetown, and it conjures up images of epic BIG EAST battles of over 30 years ago. You reminisce of days when Madison Square Garden was brimming with almost 20,000 fans roaring from opening tip to final horn. And you remember some of the animosity that was always present between the Johnnies and the Hoyas.
And while Tuesday night's encounter between St. John's and Georgetown again saw Mullin and Ewing going head-to-head, this time from the sidelines, the rivalry, of course, still has a ways to go before it matches those battles of yesteryear.
This season's first matchup between the Red Storm and the Hoyas was not picturesque, more rock fight than epic battle, but in the end Ewing made a triumphant return to the Garden, a place he called home for 15 seasons with the Knicks, as the Hoyas came away with a hard-fought 69-66 victory over the Johnnies.
Georgetown junior center Jessie Govan sank a clutch three-pointer from the top of the circle with 25 seconds left to give the Hoyas the lead for good before a pair of free throws by Jonathan Mulmore with 10.1 seconds left put the finishing touches on the win. Shamorie Ponds' 3-point try in the final seconds missed the mark and Georgetown drew first blood in Mullin-Ewing I.
"It feels good. As you know I've had a lot of great memories here," Ewing said. "I've had ups and downs and have had a lot of good and bad memories against (Mullin). But it was good to be back. The game was just like the old times. It was a knock-down, drag-out fight. It was one of those ugly games but I was just happy that we got the win."
It was the 109th all-time meeting between the two schools but the first with Mullin and Ewing in suits rather than shorts. And while it was not one for the time capsule - the Johnnies shot just 37.7 percent from the field and 20 percent from three while the Hoyas fared only a little better at 33.3 percent from the floor and 35 percent from behind the arc - both coaches were happy with their respective teams' efforts.
"The guys, they fought hard," Ewing said. "We made mistakes and especially the way we played against Creighton (a 90-66 loss), this was a great way to bounce back. They did all the things that they needed to do to get the win."
Mullin, who saw his team drop to 10-7 overall and 0-5 in BIG EAST play, was also satisfied with his team's effort despite the loss.
"It wasn't the most artistic game but I do think both teams played hard," Mullin said. "That's a start for both of us. As far as execution, layups and stuff like that, it was a pretty sloppy game. But I think overall the effort was there."
The game was tied 31-31 at intermission and remained tight throughout the second half with Georgetown managing to open the game's largest lead at 57-49 after a Jagan Mosely layup with 4:34 to play. It was then that the game finally sparked as St. John's mounted a spirited comeback which had the 9,406 fans in attendance (about half of what those magical 80s battles drew) on their feet and roaring and for awhile, at least, it did sound like the old Garden days.
A layup by St. John's Marvin Clark II followed by four straight points from Shamorie Ponds and a dunk off a steal by Justin Simon tied the game at 57-57 with 3:07 to play and it remained nip-and-tuck the rest of the way. The Hoyas pulled out to a 63-59 lead with 2:10 to go after a free throw by Mulmore but St. John's didn't wilt and again responded with a run and when Simon converted a layup with 51.2 seconds to play, the game was tied again at 64-64. But that's when Govan and Mulmore closed things out for the Hoyas, who are now 12-4 overall and 2-3 in the BIG EAST.
Govan finished with a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Hoyas while Ponds paced the Red Storm with 17 points. It was a game that was far more PG-rated than the R-rated encounters of the 80s. In fact on one play late in the second half when Ponds crashed to the floor, there was Mulmore extending a hand to pick up the fallen Johnnie. That never would have happened during Mullin and Ewing's playing days.
After the game the two long-time rivals-turned-friends embraced on the handshake line and later reflected on what the game meant to them.
"This is a great rivalry," Ewing said. "Both teams, both schools have a rich tradition. Before myself and Chris came it was Louie (Carnesecca) and Coach (John) Thompson. You had the sweater game and then you had myself and Chris playing against each other in BIG EAST tournaments and regular season and now it's gone full circle. Now you have both of us coaching against each other. I think this is what dreams are made of. We've battled each other, became friends, won two (Olympic) gold medals together and now we're battling each other again."
"Me and Patrick have a long relationship and I have a lot of respect for him," Mullin said. "It's just a very surreal and unique circumstance, 30 years later. Someone asked me today, 'What's the chance you would have thought this would happen?' and I said, 'One hundred percent never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be here in 2018 coaching St. John's against Patrick Ewing coaching Georgetown."
Mullin-Ewing II is slated for Jan. 20 at Georgetown.