St. John's University Athletics
Sunday, February 17
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
5:00 p.m.
St. John's University
19-7, 7-6BE
71
vs
65
Villanova
20-6, 11-2BE
1
2
F
Villanova
37
28
65
St. John's
26
45
71
St. John’s Battles Back to Top No. 13/13 Villanova at Madison Square Garden
2/17/2019 8:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm trailed by 19 in the first half and 14 with 12 minutes remaining in the contest
NEW YORK – Trailing the defending national champions by as many as 19 in the first half, the St. John's men's basketball team completed one of the most thrilling comebacks in the history of the program, knocking off No. 13/13 Villanova, 71-65, in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.
The win, the Red Storm's third ranked victory of the season, marked the first for St. John's against the Wildcats at home since Jan. 20, 2002. The Johnnies (19-7, 7-6 BIG EAST) now own five Quad One wins on the season and hold a 3-1 record against the BIG EAST's nationally ranked duo of Marquette and Villanova. St. John's is now 5-1 in its last six regular season outings against foes in the AP Top 25.
After missing their first nine three-point attempts of the evening, the Johnnies sank eight of their final 14 tries from distance to help spark the comeback. The Red Storm trailed by 14, 48-34, with 12 minutes to go before a 20-5 run gave St. John's its first lead of the game, 54-53, on an LJ Figueroa 3-pointer with 7:28 to play. Villanova (20-6, 11-2 BIG EAST) would regain the lead two more times down the stretch, but St. John's went ahead for good on another Figueroa trey with just under four minutes to play.
Figueroa led all scorers with 22 points, sinking three of his six tries from beyond the arc and seven of his eight attempts from the charity stripe. He also grabbed 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and recorded four steals. 16 of the sophomore's 22 points came in the second half, a period that saw him go 3-for-4 from distance.
Mustapha Heron netted 14 of his 19 points in the second half. On the game, the junior guard shot 5-for-9 from the field, 2-for-4 from three and converted on seven of his eight tries from the stripe.
Justin Simon registered eight rebounds, four assists and 13 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Shamorie Ponds rounded out the Red Storm's double digit scorers by posting 11 points thanks to a 7-for-8 effort from the line.
Marvin Clark II connected on two triples, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career.
The Red Storm's comeback was the largest by a St. John's team since overcoming a 20-point deficit to defeat DePaul in triple overtime on March 5, 2010.
St. John's connected on 18 of its 20 free throw tries in the second half after going 7-for-13 in the opening 20 minutes.
The Red Storm committed just seven turnovers on the evening and forced 16, turning those Villanova miscues in 19 points.
Trailing 8-6 following a Heron layup with four minutes gone in the contest, St. John's went cold and saw Villanova score seven straight to kick off a 21-4 run that put the Wildcats ahead by 19, 29-10, with just under nine minutes to play in the period.
Shooting 10-of-18 from the floor at that point, the Wildcats missed their next six shot attempts, but the Red Storm only managed to trim its deficit to 15, 29-14, following a Ponds layup with six minutes to go.
Down by 17, 37-20, with a minute and a half remaining until the intermission, St. John's rattled off the period's final six points to pull within 11 at the break. Simon put an exclamation point on the half by banking in three-quarter court buzzer beater for the Red Storm's first 3-pointer of the game.
The Johnnies shot just 31 percent from the first half, including a 10 percent effort from beyond the arc.
Clark cut the Villanova advantage to eight with a three on the Red Storm's first basket of the half. Trailing by that same eight-point margin at the first media timeout of the period, two free throws resulting from a Figueroa technical foul sparked a 6-0 spurt for Villanova, bumping the Wildcats' lead back to 14, 48-34.
From there, the Red Storm rattled off the game's next 11 points, pulling within three on a Ponds floater with 10:48 to go. Ponds scored six points on the run while Figueroa added a layup and Heron drained a triple.
After bumping its lead back to four on a Joe Cremo free throw, Villanova saw St. John's nail three consecutive three-point attempts, as Figueroa pulled the Red Storm within one before Heron tied the game 40 seconds later and Figueroa struck again to give St. John's its first lead of the game, 54-53, with 7:28 to play.
With his team trailing by a pair, 57-55, following a Phil Booth layup with four and a half to play, Figueroa hit his third and final three of the half to put the Red Storm back ahead by one. The Johnnies would never trail again. The Red Storm sealed the game by making 13 of its 14 free throw attempts in the final 3:11 of the game, including 12 in a row in the last minute and a half.
St. John's returns to action on Wednesday night, traveling to Providence for an 8:30 p.m. showdown with the Friars.
The win, the Red Storm's third ranked victory of the season, marked the first for St. John's against the Wildcats at home since Jan. 20, 2002. The Johnnies (19-7, 7-6 BIG EAST) now own five Quad One wins on the season and hold a 3-1 record against the BIG EAST's nationally ranked duo of Marquette and Villanova. St. John's is now 5-1 in its last six regular season outings against foes in the AP Top 25.
After missing their first nine three-point attempts of the evening, the Johnnies sank eight of their final 14 tries from distance to help spark the comeback. The Red Storm trailed by 14, 48-34, with 12 minutes to go before a 20-5 run gave St. John's its first lead of the game, 54-53, on an LJ Figueroa 3-pointer with 7:28 to play. Villanova (20-6, 11-2 BIG EAST) would regain the lead two more times down the stretch, but St. John's went ahead for good on another Figueroa trey with just under four minutes to play.
Figueroa led all scorers with 22 points, sinking three of his six tries from beyond the arc and seven of his eight attempts from the charity stripe. He also grabbed 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and recorded four steals. 16 of the sophomore's 22 points came in the second half, a period that saw him go 3-for-4 from distance.
Mustapha Heron netted 14 of his 19 points in the second half. On the game, the junior guard shot 5-for-9 from the field, 2-for-4 from three and converted on seven of his eight tries from the stripe.
Justin Simon registered eight rebounds, four assists and 13 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Shamorie Ponds rounded out the Red Storm's double digit scorers by posting 11 points thanks to a 7-for-8 effort from the line.
Marvin Clark II connected on two triples, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career.
The Red Storm's comeback was the largest by a St. John's team since overcoming a 20-point deficit to defeat DePaul in triple overtime on March 5, 2010.
St. John's connected on 18 of its 20 free throw tries in the second half after going 7-for-13 in the opening 20 minutes.
The Red Storm committed just seven turnovers on the evening and forced 16, turning those Villanova miscues in 19 points.
Trailing 8-6 following a Heron layup with four minutes gone in the contest, St. John's went cold and saw Villanova score seven straight to kick off a 21-4 run that put the Wildcats ahead by 19, 29-10, with just under nine minutes to play in the period.
Shooting 10-of-18 from the floor at that point, the Wildcats missed their next six shot attempts, but the Red Storm only managed to trim its deficit to 15, 29-14, following a Ponds layup with six minutes to go.
Down by 17, 37-20, with a minute and a half remaining until the intermission, St. John's rattled off the period's final six points to pull within 11 at the break. Simon put an exclamation point on the half by banking in three-quarter court buzzer beater for the Red Storm's first 3-pointer of the game.
The Johnnies shot just 31 percent from the first half, including a 10 percent effort from beyond the arc.
Clark cut the Villanova advantage to eight with a three on the Red Storm's first basket of the half. Trailing by that same eight-point margin at the first media timeout of the period, two free throws resulting from a Figueroa technical foul sparked a 6-0 spurt for Villanova, bumping the Wildcats' lead back to 14, 48-34.
From there, the Red Storm rattled off the game's next 11 points, pulling within three on a Ponds floater with 10:48 to go. Ponds scored six points on the run while Figueroa added a layup and Heron drained a triple.
After bumping its lead back to four on a Joe Cremo free throw, Villanova saw St. John's nail three consecutive three-point attempts, as Figueroa pulled the Red Storm within one before Heron tied the game 40 seconds later and Figueroa struck again to give St. John's its first lead of the game, 54-53, with 7:28 to play.
With his team trailing by a pair, 57-55, following a Phil Booth layup with four and a half to play, Figueroa hit his third and final three of the half to put the Red Storm back ahead by one. The Johnnies would never trail again. The Red Storm sealed the game by making 13 of its 14 free throw attempts in the final 3:11 of the game, including 12 in a row in the last minute and a half.
St. John's returns to action on Wednesday night, traveling to Providence for an 8:30 p.m. showdown with the Friars.
Team Stats
VU
SJU
FG%
.333
.339
3FG%
.314
.348
FT%
.750
.758
RB
43
37
TO
16
7
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard/Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
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