St. John's forward Zuby Ejiofor gestures after he made a...

St. John's forward Zuby Ejiofor gestures after he made a three-point basket during the first half of an NCAA men's basketball game against Georgetown on Tuesday in Washington. Credit: AP/Nick Wass

WASHINGTON — Nobody’s perfect, but St. John’s has been in January.

The 15th-ranked Red Storm played Georgetown on Tuesday night in the last of the seven games on their schedule in the month and completely leveled the Hoyas for a 66-41 Big East victory before 4,386 at Capital One Center for their seventh straight win.

St. John’s was a tour de force on defense all game and matched it with a great offensive first half to build a lead as big as 30 points before holding the Hoyas at arm’s length in the second half. To understand just how good the Red Storm defense was: they could have won the game without scoring a point after halftime.

St. John’s coach Rick Pitino called the first half the “best offense-defense we’ve ever played” and likened the performance to the kind he got from his Kentucky team that won the 1996 national championship.

It’s the first time since 1984-85, when it reached the Final Four, that St. John’s has had a perfect January.

“That means a lot to us, but .  .  . we’re not looking too far into the future,” Aaron Scott said.

The Red Storm (18-3, 9-1) have won 13 of their last 14 games. This is the team’s best start to a season since 1985-86 when it was 20-2 and this is its best start in conference play since the 1984-85 season.

They were again without guard Deivon Smith (right shoulder), though Pitino said he returned to practice Monday with no contact and is “60-70%” for an appearance Saturday against Providence at the Garden.

Georgetown (13-8, 4-6) has lost six of its last seven and this is the worst beatdown it’s suffered at the hands of St. John’s since a 39-point loss to the Storm in 1972. Georgetown shot just 25% for the game and its 41 points is the fewest the Storm have given up in a Big East game.

“Their defense was elite,” Hoyas coach Ed Cooley said.

Kadary Richmond had 13 points, including 11 in the first half, and shot 6-for-7, and Zuby Ejiofor had 13 points and nine rebounds for St. John’s. Scott added 10 points and nine rebounds and RJ Luis Jr. 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The Storm’s Simeon Wilcher finished with seven points, five assists and five steals.

Malik Mack scored 13 for the Hoyas.

St. John’s didn’t just turn off Georgetown’s tap in this one. The Storm never even let the Hoyas get the water going in a first half that was very close to a defensive masterpiece.

St. John’s scored the game’s first 11 points in just 3:48 and had the margin to 20 less than four minutes later when Ejiofor put back a Luis miss for a 23-3 lead with 12:14 left in the first half.

The Red Storm pushed their advantage to 30 when Jaiden Glover drove for a reverse layup to make it 41-11 with 2:54 to go until halftime and St. John’s led 47-21 at the intermission.

Georgetown made only one of its first 11 shots and followed that by making only two of its next 11. When the St. John’s margin hit 30 points, the Hoyas had shot just 4-for-26.

“We really just focus on getting better [and] this team is getting better and better,” Pitino said. “That defense we play. Do you know how many times first [and] second half that the clock was winding down and they had to take a desperation shot? That was great switching. That was great covering the gaps. So we’re getting better and better and all we want to do is be the best.”

At the same time, the Storm made 62% from the floor and were 5-for-11 on three-pointers at halftime while committing just three turnovers.

“I went in halftime and just told my story about Kentucky,” Pitino said. “I said the only time I’ve had a lead like this: the ’96 team would put them away and smell blood .  .  . And if you let them come back, it’ll be a long night for you. So don’t. Don’t play not to lose, play to win.”

The Hoyas scored the first eight points after halftime and St. John’s wasn’t nearly as good on offense after the break as Georgetown cut the margin to 55-40 when Thomas Sorber hit one of two free throws with 6:33 to play. They got no closer as St. John’s responded with a 7-0 run on a Scott three-pointer, two Wilcher free throws and a driving layup by Richmond.

“We’re getting better and better and I think they feel it themselves because they know it’s coming, getting ready for February and they feel it,” Pitino said. “But they’ll prepare for Providence like they lost this game.”

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