Seton Hall outlasts St. John's in overtime for 20th win of season

Khadeen Carrington, Jordan Walker and Ismael Sanogo celebrate at center court after Seton Hall's overtime victory over St. John's. (Photo by Jason Schott/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Schott (@JESchott19)

NEW YORK -- Seton Hall notched their 20th victory of the season, as they outlasted St. John's in overtime, 81-74, Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

A de facto magic number for an NCAA Tournament bid, the Pirates are now 20-9 overall and 9-7 in the Big East, tying them with Butler and Providence for third in the conference. St. John's has now dropped two straight after their magical four-game winning streak, falling to 14-15 overall and 3-13 in the Big East, now in last place in the conference since DePaul beat Marquette Saturday afternoon.

Seton Hall was led by Khadeen Carrington, who had 22 points with eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal. Angel Delgado got another double-double, the 70th of his career and 20th on the season, as he had 14 rebounds on a superb 7-9 from the field and 13 rebounds. Myles Powell came close to a double-double of his own, as he had 18 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Myles Cale, who started for the first time in his career in place of the injured Desi Rodriguez, had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and two rebounds. Ismael Sanogo also had 10 points on 5-of-7 from the field, with six rebounds. St. John's was led by Shamorie Ponds, who finished with 25 points. Just as it was Wednesday against Marquette, Ponds' point total was impressive, but was kept in check as he shot 9-for-22 from the field and was 0-for-6 from behind the arc. The sophomore did finish with six assists, two rebounds, and two steals as well. Marvin Clark II had a double-double with 19 points on 8-12 from the field and 3-5 on threes, and 10 rebounds. He also had three steals and three turnovers.

This game was a very even battle, with seven lead changes and the score tied 15 times. Seton Hall got the edge in the first half, powered by 12 points from Carrington and 10 from Delgado to take a 38-34 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Pirates opened up a 63-58 lead on a Cale layup with 6:13 remaining in regulation. St. John's came right back, as Clark drained a three right after that, and eventually tied it at 68 on a Ponds layup with 51 seconds left. On Seton Hall's ensuing possession, Ponds was called for a reach-in foul on Powell with 38 seconds left, an ambiguous call as it did not appear to the live crowd that Ponds had made contact on Powell.

Powell went to the foul line and drained both free throws to make it 70-68 Seton Hall. He then fouled Ponds as he went up for a shot with 16 seconds left, and Ponds made both free throws to tie it at 70. Seton Hall had plenty of time to get a game-winning shot, but Powell's three-point attempt rimmed out to send the game to overtime.

The extra period began with Delgado and Ponds trading baskets to start, followed by Delgado getting a layup to make it 74-72 Pirates one minute into the extra session. St. John's then had three chances on their ensuing possession, as Clark and Ponds missed threes and Bashir Ahmed missed a layup.

The most consequential play happened with 1:02 on the clock, when Clark fouled Carrington. The senior made both ensuing free throws to extend the Seton Hall lead to five, at 77-72. Ponds then responded with a pair of free throws with 55 seconds left to make it 77-74, and Ahmed got to the line for a one-and-one with 28 seconds left, but missed the front end. St. John's then took too long to foul, finally sending Carrington to the line with 16 seconds left, where he made both shots to seal the victory before adding a dunk in the final seconds to provide the final margin.

Seton Hall outscored St. John's, 11-4, in the overtime period.