No. 22/20 St. John’s Falls to No. 13/14 Baylor, 99-98, in Double Overtime

Thursday, November 21

Nassau, Bahamas (Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

4-1,0-0Big East

No. 13/14 Baylor

4-1,0-0Big 12

OT 1

OT 2

Baylor

St. John's (NY)

No. 22/20 St. John’s Falls to No. 13/14 Baylor, 99-98, in Double Overtime

11/21/2024 11:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Baylor’s Jeremy Roach sank the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer; Zuby Ejiofor led St. John’s with 22 points and 10 rebounds

NASSAU, Bahamas – The No. 22/20 St. John's men's basketball team fell to No. 13/14 Baylor, 99-98, in a heartbreaking double-overtime affair at the Baha Mar Hoops Championship on Thursday.

Coming out of a timeout with six seconds remaining, VJ Edgecombe buried a tough, contested 3-pointer to bring the Bears within 98-96. Then after a pair of misses at the free-throw line by St. John's with 4.1 seconds on the clock, Norchand Omier corralled a rebound and pushed the ball up court to Jeremy Roach for the game-winning three at the buzzer.

Omier finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Roach recorded 20 points to go with four assists.

St. John's junior forward Zuby Ejiofor led five Johnnies in double figures with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. The Garland, Texas native also pulled down 10 rebounds and matched his personal best with five blocks in over 42 minutes of action.

Senior wing Aaron Scott also reached the 20-point threshold for the Johnnies, knocking down five of his six attempts from distance with a 3-for-4 effort from the line. Scott also grabbed six boards. Teammate RJ Luis Jr. finished with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a pair of blocks.

Kadary Richmond chipped in 14 points while adding seven assists, four boards and two steals in a team-high 45 minutes of work. Fellow Red Storm guard Deivon Smith rounded out those in double figures with a 10-point effort to go with six rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

The Johnnies (4-1) went 54.8 percent (34-62 FG) from the floor while shooting 58.3 percent (14-24 3FG) from beyond the arc. The team's 14 triples were the most against a ranked opponent since knocking down 14 against No. 10 Creighton on March 1, 2020.

The Red Storm also played in its first double-overtime contest since taking down DePaul, 92-83, at Wintrust Arena on Feb. 14, 2023.

In the first half, the Red Storm quickly built a double-digit lead after shooting 10-for-12 from the floor with five consecutive makes from distance midway through the frame. Scott and Brady Dunlap knocked down back-to-back triples before Ruben Prey closed out the stretch with a transition dunk to take a 34-19 edge with 8:30 remaining.

St. John's advantage grew as large as many as 18 with 5:29 to go in the opening half after a 3-pointer from Luis and a fastbreak slam by Ejiofor to go up, 39-21. However, Baylor managed to reduce the advantage to 14 by intermission.

The Red Storm held a 44-30 lead at the break thanks in part to a stout defensive effort in the first 20 minutes while also shooting 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from distance.

Baylor (4-1) whittled away at the Red Storm's lead and took its first advantage of the game with under three minutes to play after Jalen Celestine scored five straight points and Jayden Nunn drained a jumper to go up, 74-73. The Johnnies tied the game twice after Kadary Richmond sank a free throw on the ensuing possession and floated in the game-tying bucket with eight seconds on the clock to force overtime.

Following a pair of Baylor buckets from Omier and Roach in the first extra session, Ejiofor and Scott knocked down four straight free throws to deadlock the game at 81. The Bears answered with the next five points, capped off by Edgecombe's dunk to go up, 86-81, with 1:47 remaining in overtime.

Richmond responded again for the Johnnies with a layup and then knocked down the back end of a pair of free throws to pull within two, 86-84, with 41 seconds left. On the ensuing inbound pass, Smith forced a double-dribble turnover by Robert Wright III to give the Johnnies possession once again. Richmond drew another foul and knocked down two more free throws to tie the game at 86, forcing double overtime.

In the second overtime, Luis, Scott and Wilcher drained three-consecutive 3-pointers to take a 97-92 advantage with 2:21 to play. Nunn and Smith traded free-throws at the opposite ends of the floor before Edgecombe and Roach buried their decisive threes to end the game.

The Red Storm will face the loser of No. 11/9 Tennessee and Virginia in a consolation game on Friday of the 2024 Baha Mar Hoops Championship. Tip-off from Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center is slated for 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.