St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Outlasts Rutgers, 104-99, in Four-Overtime Exhibition
10/18/2026 5:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Keyshawn Hall and Ian Jackson finish with 24 points apiece
QUEENS, N.Y. – The contest will not appear in any record books, but it is unlikely that any of the 11,041 fans in attendance will forget Sunday's exhibition marathon between St. John's and Rutgers at Madison Square Garden.
After erasing a 20-point deficit early in the second half, the Red Storm outlasted the Scarlet Knights, 104-99, in four overtimes. Had Sunday been a regular season game, it would have been the first four-overtime contest in program history.
Keyshawn Hall led the way for St. John's with 24 points and 14 rebounds. The graduate student went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line while also adding three assists and a pair of blocks.
Junior guard Ian Jackson also finished with 24 points for the Red Storm, which improved to 2-0 in exhibition games this preseason.
Unanimous Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection Tounde Yessoufou tallied 15 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Senior guard Quinn Ellis flirted with a triple-double, posting 13 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and four blocks. In 56 minutes of action, the 6-foot-5 Englishman committed only one turnover and recorded two steals.
Babacar Sane scored 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbed six rebounds in just 15 minutes.
Ruben Prey tallied eight points on 4-of-7 shooting and dished out four assists. Frontcourt mate Reed Bailey logged 35 minutes of action, finishing with five points, four assists and three rebounds.
The Red Storm found it difficult to miss in the early going, making five of its first six field goal attempts to take an 11-8 lead with four and a half minutes gone in the game.
After starting the game 9-of-15 from the floor, the Red Storm made just two of its final 15 shot attempts in the half, allowing the Scarlet Knights to embark on a 26-6 run over the span of 11 minutes.
Down 18, 46-28, at the break, the Red Storm came firing out of the locker room.
With the deficit up to 20, 48-28, after the opening possession of the second half, the Red Storm uncorked a 16-0 run to cut the Rutgers advantage to four, 48-44, with 14:10 to go. Six different Johnnies scored on the run.
With the score tied at 52 after two Hall free throws with 11:58 to play, the Red Storm retook the lead on Prey steal-and-slam less than a minute later.
The Red Storm climbed ahead by as many as six, capping a 30-4 run that lasted just under 11 minutes.
Rutgers would not go quietly, slowing chipping into the St. John's lead before vaulting ahead by two, 71-69, on a pair of Christian Gurdak free throws with 38 seconds to go.
Facing its first deficit in more than 10 minutes, the Red Storm knotted the game on an Ellis layup with 23 ticks remaining before forcing one more stop and sending the game into overtime.
It remained a back-and-forth affair, as neither team led by more than three before the fourth overtime.
St. John's had a shot to win in the first overtime, but Ellis' right-wing 3-pointer fell just short off the front iron as time expired. The Red Storm also had a chance at the winning basket in the second overtime, but Jackson's driving did not drop, sending the contest past the 50th minute.
In the third overtime, it was Rutgers' turn to take the final possession, but Tariq Francis missed a short-range shot, sending the game into an unprecedented fourth extra period.
Rutgers scored the opening bucket of the fourth overtime before the Red Storm rattled off six in a row, taking the first two-possession lead by either side in extra time, 100-96, with 1:38 to play. The Scarlet Knights cut the deficit back to two on the ensuing possession, but Hall and Ellis went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch to ice the game.
The Red Storm will close out the exhibition portion of its schedule next Sunday, Oct. 25, when the Johnnies play host to Texas at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. To purchase tickets, click here or call 1-888-GO-STORM.
After erasing a 20-point deficit early in the second half, the Red Storm outlasted the Scarlet Knights, 104-99, in four overtimes. Had Sunday been a regular season game, it would have been the first four-overtime contest in program history.
Keyshawn Hall led the way for St. John's with 24 points and 14 rebounds. The graduate student went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line while also adding three assists and a pair of blocks.
Junior guard Ian Jackson also finished with 24 points for the Red Storm, which improved to 2-0 in exhibition games this preseason.
Unanimous Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection Tounde Yessoufou tallied 15 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Senior guard Quinn Ellis flirted with a triple-double, posting 13 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and four blocks. In 56 minutes of action, the 6-foot-5 Englishman committed only one turnover and recorded two steals.
Babacar Sane scored 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbed six rebounds in just 15 minutes.
Ruben Prey tallied eight points on 4-of-7 shooting and dished out four assists. Frontcourt mate Reed Bailey logged 35 minutes of action, finishing with five points, four assists and three rebounds.
The Red Storm found it difficult to miss in the early going, making five of its first six field goal attempts to take an 11-8 lead with four and a half minutes gone in the game.
After starting the game 9-of-15 from the floor, the Red Storm made just two of its final 15 shot attempts in the half, allowing the Scarlet Knights to embark on a 26-6 run over the span of 11 minutes.
Down 18, 46-28, at the break, the Red Storm came firing out of the locker room.
With the deficit up to 20, 48-28, after the opening possession of the second half, the Red Storm uncorked a 16-0 run to cut the Rutgers advantage to four, 48-44, with 14:10 to go. Six different Johnnies scored on the run.
With the score tied at 52 after two Hall free throws with 11:58 to play, the Red Storm retook the lead on Prey steal-and-slam less than a minute later.
The Red Storm climbed ahead by as many as six, capping a 30-4 run that lasted just under 11 minutes.
Rutgers would not go quietly, slowing chipping into the St. John's lead before vaulting ahead by two, 71-69, on a pair of Christian Gurdak free throws with 38 seconds to go.
Facing its first deficit in more than 10 minutes, the Red Storm knotted the game on an Ellis layup with 23 ticks remaining before forcing one more stop and sending the game into overtime.
It remained a back-and-forth affair, as neither team led by more than three before the fourth overtime.
St. John's had a shot to win in the first overtime, but Ellis' right-wing 3-pointer fell just short off the front iron as time expired. The Red Storm also had a chance at the winning basket in the second overtime, but Jackson's driving did not drop, sending the contest past the 50th minute.
In the third overtime, it was Rutgers' turn to take the final possession, but Tariq Francis missed a short-range shot, sending the game into an unprecedented fourth extra period.
Rutgers scored the opening bucket of the fourth overtime before the Red Storm rattled off six in a row, taking the first two-possession lead by either side in extra time, 100-96, with 1:38 to play. The Scarlet Knights cut the deficit back to two on the ensuing possession, but Hall and Ellis went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch to ice the game.
The Red Storm will close out the exhibition portion of its schedule next Sunday, Oct. 25, when the Johnnies play host to Texas at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. To purchase tickets, click here or call 1-888-GO-STORM.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
RU
SJU
FG%
.371
.424
3FG%
.190
.200
FT%
.725
.788
RB
58
51
TO
17
15
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Sunday, October 18
Sunday, October 18
Wednesday, October 14
Wednesday, October 14










