Marquette Outlasts St. John’s, 73-71

Saturday, January 16

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

7-7, 2-6BE

Marquette

8-6, 4-4BE

Marquette

St. John's

1/16/2021 3:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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St. John’s sophomore forward Julian Champagnie scores 20 points in the loss

QUEENS, N.Y. – In a back-and-forth finish that featured three ties and a pair of lead changes over the final five minutes, St. John's was unable to match one last Marquette bucket, as the Golden Eagles escaped with a 73-71 victory on Saturday at Carnesecca Arena.

Koby McEwen hit the game-winning layup for Marquette with 27 seconds to play in regulation. St. John's had two looks on its final possession, but a driving layup from Vince Cole was blocked before a last-second three-point try from the corner rimmed out for Julian Champagnie.

Trailing by 11 at half, St. John's quickly erased the deficit thanks to a stellar stretch of play from Champagnie. With his team down 10 following a pair of D.J. Carton dunks, the sophomore embarked on a personal 12-0 run, hitting three 3-pointers and giving the Red Storm its first lead since the game's opening minutes. The leading scorer in the BIG EAST at 20.7 points per game, Champagnie scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half after starting 1-for-10 from the floor. The Brooklyn native has now scored 20 or more points six times in 12 outings this season.

Greg Williams Jr. also finished in double figures for the Johnnies, tallying 15 points and a pair of steals. The loss marked the first for St. John's in a game where Williams scored 14 or more points.

Posh Alexander was everywhere for the Johnnies on Saturday, logging nine points, eight assists, five steals and four rebounds. The freshman guard from Brooklyn matched season highs for assists and steals and grabbed three of his four boards on the offensive glass.

In addition to making both of his field goal tries for four points, Josh Roberts was exceptional for the Red Storm defensively. The junior big man matched a career-high with four blocks and altered a number of other shots during the Johnnies' second-half run.

Rasheem Dunn finished with seven points, four assists and four rebounds for the Red Storm.

St. John's pressured Marquette into 19 turnovers, 12 of which were the result of Red Storm steals.

As a team, St. John's shot 37.7 percent (26-of-69) from the floor compared to Marquette's 46.4 percent (26-of-56). The Golden Eagles were lights-out from the free throw line, making 14 of their 16 tries. St. John's went 9-of-14 from the charity stripe.

After starting the game with an 8-2 burst, St. John's went scoreless over the next 5:06 as Marquette ripped off a 12-0 run to climb ahead by six, 14-8, with 12:39 to play in the opening half.

The Johnnies clawed back within one, 17-16, on an Isiah Moore put-back slam with 8:54 remaining, but the Golden Eagles answered with an 8-0 spurt take a nine-point edge just over two minutes later.

St. John's trimmed the deficit down to as few as four, but the Golden Eagles closed the half on a 7-1 spurt to take an 11-point cushion into the locker room.

After the intermission, the Red Storm quickly cut into the Marquette lead, pulling within six, 47-41, on a Champagnie triple with 16 minutes to play. Then after Carton threw down a pair of slams to put the Golden Eagles back ahead by double digits, Champagnie started his 12-0 tear to give the Johnnies a two-point lead, 53-51, with 13:14 to go.

Champagnie's offense provided the highlights, but the defensive efforts of Roberts and Alexander also played a critical role on the run, as Roberts blocked a pair of shots and Alexander came up with a critical steal that led to a three.

Marquette outscored St. John's, 12-4, over the next seven minutes to climb back ahead by five, 65-60, with 6:11 remaining. The Red Storm responded by scoring eight of the game's next 10 points, regaining the advantage, 66-65, on a Williams baseline jumper with 4:25 to go.

A pair of McEwen free throws and a Jamal Cain layup put the Golden Eagles ahead by three, 69-66, before Champagnie's fifth triple of the game evened the score with 2:57 to go.

Carton and Alexander traded layups to knot things up at 71 with 100 seconds remaining, but McEwens' game-winner would prove to be the only scoring the rest of the way, as Marquette won its first game in Queens since the 2015-16 season.

St. John's will have a short turnaround before traveling to Storrs for a MLK Day matchup with Connecticut. The first meeting since 2013 between the Red Storm and the Huskies will air live nationally on FOX beginning at 2:30 p.m. Fans can also hear the game on 970 AM WNYM.