St. John’s Drops Heartbreaker to Villanova, 66-65, in BIG EAST Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 10

New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

17-15

Villanova

24-7

St. John's

Villanova

St. John’s Drops Heartbreaker to Villanova, 66-65, in BIG EAST Quarterfinals

3/10/2022 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Julian Champagnie leads the way with 23 points and nine rebounds for the Johnnies

NEW YORK – Brandon Slater sank two free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining to lift Villanova over St. John's, 66-65, in the quarterfinal round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Red Storm (17-15) saw a 17-point lead slip away in the second half, but managed to retake the advantage with just over two minutes to play. The Johnnies held Villanova (24-7) without a field goal for the final 2:56 and without a point for 2:20 down the stretch before Slater's game-winning free throw.

Julian Champagnie scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 38 minutes of action. The two-time First Team All-BIG EAST selection from Brooklyn also tallied four steals and dished out three assists.

Stef Smith was the only other Johnnie to finish in double figures, netting 10 points. The graduate student from Ontario gave the Red Storm its final lead of the night on an old-fashioned three-point play with just over two minutes to go and drew a pair of crucial charges down the stretch that allowed the Johnnies to stay within striking distance.

Posh Alexander registered nine points, five assists and three steals. The sophomore guard was forced to the bench twice in the second half during crucial stretches of play due to foul trouble.

After shooting 23.3 percent and scoring just 23 points in the opening 20 minutes, Villanova shot 50.0 percent from the field, including a 4-for-10 showing from deep, in the second stanza.

The Red Storm opened a sizeable lead early, using a 6-0 spurt to move ahead 19-10 following two free throws from Joel Soriano with 8:07 to go.

Caleb Daniels, who scored a team-high 19 points, answered with back-to-back 3s before the Johnnies rattled off nine straight to take their largest lead of the half, 28-16, with 5:08 to play. Montez Mathis kick-started the run with a 3-pointer before Champagnie stripped Collin Gillespie in the back court and went up for a bucket. Alexander found Esahia Nyiwe with an acrobatic dish for a two-handed flush before capping the run with a jumper of his own.

Villanova again answered with consecutive treys before the Red Storm took a seven-point edge, 30-23, into the locker room. The Wildcats have scored fewer than 23 points in an opening half just once this season, tallying 15 at Baylor on Dec. 12.

The Johnnies scored the first seven points of the second half to begin a 14-4 run, putting the Red Storm ahead by 17, 44-27, on an Alexander 3-ball with 15:38 to go. Champagnie led the way with seven points on the burst.

Facing its largest deficit of the game, Villanova quickly rattled off 10 straight points before Nyiwe stopped the bleeding with a put-back slam. The Wildcats answered with eight more to pull within one, 46-45, with 10:25 to go.

Almost the entirety of Villanova's 18-2 run, which saw the Wildcats shoot 8-of-9 from the floor, came without Alexander on the floor. The sophomore exited the game after picking up his third foul with 14:05 to go and the Red Storm leading by 14. He did not re-enter until the Wildcats pulled within one at the 10:25 mark.

Villanova took its first lead of the game, 51-50, on a pair of Daniels free throws with just over eight minutes remaining, capping the Wildcats run at 24-6.

Villanova moved ahead by as many as four, 59-55, on two Jermaine Samuels free throws with 5:38 remaining, but the Red Storm stayed within striking distance thanks to a pair of field goals from Aaron Wheeler.

With his team down two, 64-62, after a Gillespie trip to the line with 2:22 to go, Smith went down the floor and scored three the hard way, giving the Red Storm its first lead in more than five minutes, 65-64.

The Red Storm held that lead until the final two seconds of the contest.