Last-Second Shot Sinks St. John’s Comeback, 70-68, against Vermont

Saturday, November 16

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

4 p.m.

St. John's University

3-1

Vermont

4-0

Vermont

St. John's

Last-Second Shot Sinks St. John’s Comeback, 70-68, against Vermont

11/16/2019 7:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Red Storm erased 10-point second-half deficit to tie the game in the closing seconds

QUEENS, N.Y. (Nov. 16, 2019) – The St. John's men's basketball team erased a 10-point deficit to tie the game in the final minute of play, but Vermont's Anthony Lamb sank a game-winning jumper with two seconds to go as the Catamounts topped the Johnnies, 70-68, at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing by nine with 3:19 to play in the second half, St. John's used a 13-4 run to tie the game at 68 on a Rasheem Dunn three with 19 seconds on the clock. Lamb, the reigning America East Player of Year and a Wooden Award Watch List selection, then nailed a 15-footer with two seconds remaining to give Vermont the victory.

Vermont, the defending America East Champions who won 27 games a year ago, improved to 4-0 while the Johnnies fell to 3-1. Lamb finished with 23 points on 10-of-26 shooting and grabbed 13 boards for his third double-double in four tries this season.

LJ Figueroa led the way for St. John's once again, tallying 14 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. The junior, who drained three of his seven three-point attempts on the day, led the Johnnies with six double-doubles a season ago.

Sophomore forward Josh Roberts pulled down a career-high 13 boards and narrowly missed a double-double with eight points. Seven of Roberts' 13 rebounds came on the offensive glass.

Mustapha Heron scored eight of his 14 points in the final three minutes during the Red Storm's charge. Seven of his 14 points came from the foul line, as the senior guard went just 3-for-11 from the floor.

Dunn reached double figures in his first game as a member of the Red Storm, finishing with 13 points and two assists. The Brooklyn native received a legislative relief waiver from the NCAA on Wednesday to become immediately eligible after transferring from Cleveland State.

Marcellus Earlington logged eight points, seven rebounds and three steals in 20 minutes of action. Six of his eight points came during the opening stanza.

The loss marked the first for St. John's in non-conference play at Carnesecca Arena since Nov. 29, 2016, and snapped a 17-game unbeaten streak against non-league foes in Queens.

St. John's shot a season-low 34.5 percent from the field and made just five of their 19 attempts from downtown. The Johnnies were 3-for-17 from deep before Heron and Dunn made their clutch triples in the closing seconds. The Red Storm also struggled from the stripe, going 23-for-35.

Neither team found the bottom of the basket with much regularity during the opening few minutes of the contest, as the Johnnies made just four of their first 22 shot attempts on the afternoon.

Trailing by as many as seven, 19-12, with 6:43 to play following 3-pointer from Everett Duncan, the Johnnies pulled within one, 21-20, and had a chance to take the lead before Earlington's shot was blocked and led to an easy fast-break bucket for the Catamounts. Everett Duncan then added another triple, putting Vermont back ahead by six with 2:12 to go in the half.

Over the final two minutes of the period, the Red Storm turned the tables, outscoring the Catamounts, 11-0, and taking a 31-26 lead into the locker room. Earlington provided the spark for St. John's during that stretch, making a number of inspired plays on the offensive and defensive end. The sophomore registered three points, two boards, a steal and an assist on the tear. Dunn capped the half with his first field goal as a Johnnie, a foul-line jumper to put the Red Storm ahead by five with time expiring.

Vermont started the second half on a 9-1 run, taking advantage of five St. John's turnovers in the opening five minutes of action to move head by three, 35-32.

The Catamounts extended the run as high as 17-5, moving ahead by seven, 43-36, on a Lamb 3-pointer with seven minutes gone in the half. St. John's trimmed the deficit down to one twice during the next four minutes of game action, but Vermont responded with an 11-2 spurt to take its largest lead of the game, 56-46, with 6:41 to go.

Trailing by nine, 64-55, with 3:19 to play, Heron kick started the run with a pair of free throws before a Roberts dunk brought the Johnnies within five, 64-59, with 2:17 remaining. Lamb temporarily stopped the bleeding with a layup at the 1:34 mark, but six straight points from Heron brought the Johnnies within one, 66-65, following a three-ball with 29 seconds to go.

Everett Duncan made two free throws to push the lead back to three on the ensuing possession before Dunn drilled a triple from the top of the key to even the score at 68 apiece with 19 seconds to go.

After the Johnnies nearly forced a five-second violation on a Vermont inbound with 10 seconds to play, Lamb hit the game-sealing shot with two ticks left on the clock and handed the Johnnies their first loss of the season.

The Red Storm will look to right the ship on Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena, playing host to Columbia at 7 p.m. on FS1 and 970 AM WNYM.