St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
10-12, 4-5
Providence
13-9, 3-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 46 | 45 | 91 |
| Providence College | 37 | 49 | 86 |
St. John's Wins Thriller, 91-86, at Providence
1/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. - In a thrilling affair that featured 15 lead changes and 13 ties, the St. John's men's basketball team held on to hand Providence just its second loss at home this season, as the Johnnies fought back to earn a 91-86 victory at The Dunkin' Donuts Center on Wednesday night.
The dynamic freshman duo of Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds led the way for St. John's (10-12, 4-5), as the Red Storm secured its best record at the midway point of conference play since the 2012-13 season. LoVett scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while Ponds added 22 points, highlighted by a 4-of-5 effort from distance. Combined, the freshmen went a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe and the final six points of the game were registered by Ponds at the free throw line. Both LoVett and Ponds have now each scored 20 or more points in a game eight times this season.
Two other Johnnies finished the game in double figures, as Malik Ellison scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds and a pair of steals, while Bashir Ahmed chipped in 15 points of his own.
Tariq Owens and Darien Williams may have only recorded four points apiece, but the frontcourt tandem proved crucial down the stretch, denying Providence on two-straight possessions when the Friars could have retaken the lead with under a minute to go.
As a team, the Johnnies shot 52 percent from the floor (32-of-61) and made 10 of their 21 tries from deep, good enough for 48 percent. Even more crucial down the stretch, the Red Storm converted on 17 of its 19 opportunities from the charity stripe.
Providence (13-9, 3-6) shot 62 percent from the floor on Wednesday night, a season-high, but was ultimately undone by its inability to convert from the free throw line, as the Friars made just 18 of their 27 chances from the charity stripe.
After a back-and-forth start to the affair that saw the Red Storm hold a 9-8 lead with six and a half minutes gone in the game, the Johnnies went on an 8-3 spurt to move ahead by six, 17-11, punctuated by a rare six-point possession. Federico Mussini converted on a triple and before the ball went in Kassoum Yakwe drew a foul underneath. On the ensuing possession, Ponds nailed a corner three to complete the momentous series.
The Friars scored six unanswered to tie the contest at 17 and retook the lead on a three-point play from Alpha Diallo, 23-22, with 8:42 to go. Down one, the Johnnies unleashed an 8-1 run to take a 30-24 advantage. Ahmed tallied five points on the run for St. John's.
The Red Storm continued to expand its lead during the closing minutes of the period, highlighted by a deep buzzer-beating three-pointer from LoVett to take a nine-point edge into the locker room, 46-37.
Providence found the bottom of the bucket with ease in the first half, making 11 of its first 14 field goal attempts, but the Friars struggled to maintain possession, surrendering 10 turnovers in the opening eight minutes and 15 seconds of the game.
The Friars came out of the locker room on fire, opening the latter stanza on a 22-7 run to move ahead 59-53 with just over six minutes gone in the half.
Facing that same six point deficit, 61-55, less than a minute later, Ponds and Owens connected on an alley-oop to cut the Providence advantage to four and kick-start a St. John's run. The Johnnies outscored the Friars 13-4 over the next five minutes, as Ellison tied the contest at 65 with a pair of free throws before Ponds put the Red Storm up by three, 68-65, with a triple near the eight and a half minute mark.
After Diallo knotted the score at 68 with a three-point play 23 seconds later, the two teams began a run down the stretch that saw ties and lead changes on nearly every possession.
A three-point play from Kyron Cartwright was quickly answered by a three-point play from Ahmed to knot the contest at 71 with 6:45 to play. Diallo would make a pair of free throws next time down to put the Friars up by two, but Ellison responded with a layup to draw even at 73 with 6:12 to play. Over the next five minutes, neither team led by more than two points as the lead changed hands eight times.
With his team trailing by one, 86-85, and just over a minute remaining on the clock, Ponds drove to the bucket and drew a foul. The freshman from Brooklyn stepped to line and nailed both of his tries, putting the Johnnies up by one, 87-86, with 1:13 on the clock.
The Friars brought the ball into the front court and tried to feed it inside to Emmitt Holt, but Owens came over from the weak side and rejected Holt's attempt with a two-handed stuff. The block resulted in a held possession with the arrow favoring the Friars, but St. John's stole the ball on the ensuing inbound.
LoVett had an opportunity to ice the game on the following possession, but his jumper was blocked by Diallo, forcing a shot clock violation and giving Providence one more try. The Friars called a timeout and Cartwright tried to attack the basket on Williams, but the senior from San Francisco stayed parallel and forced a turnover with five seconds to play. St. John's corralled the loose ball and Ponds made four free throws over the closing seconds to seal the victory.
The Red Storm returns to action on Sunday evening at "The World's Most Famous Arena," playing host to No. 24/22 Xavier at 6 p.m. on FS1 and 970 AM WNYM. Prior to the men's contest, Joe Tartamella and the St. John's women's basketball team will host Xavier at 3 p.m. inside "The Mecca of College Basketball."
