St. John’s Falls at Providence, 75-72

Tuesday, February 13

Providence, R.I. (Amica Mutual Pavilion)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

14-11,6-8Big East

Providence

16-9,7-7Big East

St. John's (NY)

Providence

2/13/2024 10:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Play-by-Play (PDF)Photo Gallery Postgame Quotes VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference Photo Gallery

Sophomore wing RJ Luis Jr. led the Red Storm with 16 points and 14 rebounds on Tuesday at Amica Mutual Pavilion

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The St. John's men's basketball team (14-11, 6-8) came up short against Providence on Tuesday, falling 75-72 at Amica Mutual Pavilion.

Josh Oduro scored 26 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to help the Friars split the regular-season series with the Red Storm.

St. John's was led by RJ Luis Jr. who registered his second career double-double, finishing with 16 points and shooting 7-for-14 from the field. The sophomore wing also grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. Daniss Jenkins registered 13 points, three assists and a pair of steals, while Sean Conway produced his first double-digit scoring performance with the Red Storm with 11 points to go with six boards.

Providence (16-9, 7-7) sank six of its eight 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes of the game to open a 13-point advantage. However, the Red Storm made defensive adjustments and limited the Friars to shoot just 1-for-11 from the field in the later 10 minutes of the opening frame.

St. John's answered with a 12-0 run to pull within one, 28-27, with 4:46 on the clock. Sophomore center Zuby Ejiofor, who made his first collegiate start on Tuesday, scored five of his seven points during the stretch, including an and-one finish to cap off the spurt.

After the Friars scored five-straight points, St. John's closed the half on an 11-0 run jumpstarted by Conway's third 3-pointer of the first half. Jordan Dingle knotted the game at 33 with a triple at 2:41 before Chris Ledlum's reverse layup gave the Red Storm a two-point advantage. Dingle sank another 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Red Storm into the locker room with a 38-33 advantage.

Luis scored the team's first four points of the second half within a minute to give St. John's its largest lead of the game, 42-35. Oduro answered for Providence by scoring 10-straight points and 15 of the Friars' first 23 points of the second half to recapture the advantage. The graduate student from Gainesville, Va., shot 9-of-16 from the field and went 9-for-10 showing from the charity stripe on Tuesday.

The Red Storm clawed back from a seven-point deficit with 5:42 remaining. Luis and Joel Soriano scored on back-to-back possessions to pull within 69-66 with less than four minutes to play. St. John's eventually knotted the game at 70 on a jumper from Jenkins with 1:37 to go.

Following two quick buckets from Providence to go up 74-70, Conway sank a pair from the line to get back within two. On the ensuing Friars' possession, Devin Carter missed the front end a one-and-one with 19.9 on the clock to give the Johnnies a chance trailing 75-72 on their final possession. St. John's had two opportunities from distance with under 10 seconds to go, but Jenkins' 3-point attempt to tie it was off the mark and Dingle's last shot attempt from distance was deflected by Oduro.

The Red Storm returns to action on Sunday when it hosts Seton Hall inside UBS Arena. FS1 will carry the national telecast at 5 p.m.