St. John’s statement win stolen in double-OT heartbreaker

By Jason Dimaio (@Jaydimaio)

NASSAU, Bahamas — It was right there.

The first signature win of the Rick Pitino era. A win on which St. John’s could truly hang its collective hat throughout the duration of the season, the type of win resonates into March and potentially helps your seeding on Selection Sunday. 

It was right there until it wasn't.

A Jeremy Roach three-pointer at the buzzer in double overtime shattered the hearts of St. John’s fans and players, yet provided great theatrics in what could very well be considered the game of the year to this point of the young season, a 99-98 thriller that required 10 extra minutes before Baylor plunged a dagger into the Red Storm.

“That is about as difficult of a loss as you can have,” Rick Pitino remarked after a game in which his team led by as many as 18 points in the first half, and by two possessions in the final seconds, but was able to effectively put away.

On the surface, any way the 22nd-ranked Johnnies (4-1) could have left The Bahamas on Sunday

with a 2-1 record would be deemed a success given the level of competition on their slate, facing three power conference opponents in a four-day stretch, including a Baylor squad ranked 13th in the nation. But when the Red Storm had the Bears close to submission multiple times throughout Thursday’s game before Roach’s heroics ensued, it changes the

perspective to an extent with a short turnaround period to flush a heartbreaking defeat.

St. John’s had Baylor on the ropes to start the contest, scoring the first seven points and prompting head coach Scott Drew to call a timeout less than three minutes into the proceedings. Flying out of the gates in the first half, knocking down six of its first seven three-point attempts, a department in which the Johnnies had struggled so far to date, the shooting display and suffocating defense offered a scintillating experience in front of a majority of Red Storm fans in the stands. Projected lottery pick VJ Edgecombe, who turned down an offer from St. John’s to sign with Baylor, looked like a true

freshman in every sense of the word through the first half, while Roach—the Duke transfer who took his talents to Waco in the offseason—was rendered a non-factor. Through it all, the Johnnies as they took a 44-30 lead into halftime, much to the appreciation of the its enthusiastic and vocal contingent on hand, who certainly made its presence known.

The second half was the polar opposite. St. John’s was late on switches defensively, cold from beyond the arc—making only one of its first six attempts from distance after the intermission—and getting outhustled on the offensive glass, leaving Norchad Omier to have a field day on the boards as Baylor clobbered the Red Storm in second-chance points, outscoring St. John’s by a 22-8 margin in that category.

What was once an 18-point lead quickly dwindled down to three with 11:08 remaining in regulation, and with Kadary Richmond struggling to find his footing, other Johnnies had to step up. No one did a better job of that than Aaron Scott, who exhibited a potential clutch gene with a pair of threes that gave St. John’s some much-needed breathing room after the Bears drew within one point. Scott reprised his role from Sunday’s win over New Mexico, giving the Red Storm a 71-66 advantage with 5:11 to play. Baylor would soon respond, and eventually take a 77-74 lead of its own inside the final minute of the second half.

Trailing by two with 16 seconds left, St. John’s would get a key defensive stop as Roach missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity. Despite struggling for a large portion of the evening, Richmond went downhill on the ensuing possession, opening up the middle of the lane and hitting a runner to knot the score at 77 apiece with 6.2 seconds left on the clock. Edgecombe got a good look from the left corner as time expired, but his game-winning attempt rimmed out to force the first of two extra periods.

St. John’s was slow out of the gate in the first overtime. Players were gassed, with Richmond barely able to walk at times due to cramps, being rotated in and out. Baylor took an 86-81 advantage with 1:47 remaining until Richmond persevered and scored the next five points to singlehandedly forge an 86-all deadlock with 25 seconds to go. The Bears had a chance to hold for the win, but Roach’s jumper did not hit the mark, necessitating another five minutes.

In the second overtime, Simeon Wilcher hit what was one of, if not the biggest shot of his young career with 2:21 to play, giving the Johnnies a 97-92 lead and swinging all the momentum and control back toward the Red Storm. Up 97-93, Deivon Smith went to the line with 18 seconds remaining and split a pair of free throws. On the following possession, Edgecombe made up for his miss at the end of regulation, draining a quick three to pull Baylor within two.

On the following inbounds play, Richmond was on the bench due to his cramps and unable to re-enter the game, leaving Pitino to rely on Zuby Ejiofor to handle the pass. On a play designed for Smith, Ejiofor missed his screen and ended up with the ball in his hands, sending the junior forward to the free throw line to put the game away.

A controversial moment occurred thereafter, as Drew urged the officials to go to the monitor to review a potential elbow thrown by Ejiofor as he tried to secure the inbounds. Pitino was enraged, as the review for a phantom foul effectively iced Ejiofor. The trip to the monitor proved for naught, returning Ejiofor—who had already missed four free throws in the game to that point—back to the charity stripe, where he proceeded to miss both attempts. In the scrum for the rebound following the second misfire, RJ Luis was first to touch the ball, but was unable to corral it as Omier beat him to the punch and dished to Roach, who raced upcourt and got off a transition three well before time expired, stunning the Johnnies in one of the more deflating losses for the program in recent memory.

Questions ensued on the replay as to whether the clock started too late after the missed shot, which would have otherwise negated Roach’s attempt, as he would not have gotten it off in time.

“I don't know what to say,” an animated Pitino stated afterward. “The referees didn’t do a very good job tonight. Icing my free throw shooter there at the end, I thought was totally unethical. They said the coach said we elbowed, which we clearly did not do.”

St. John’s will regroup and will attempt to have a quick memory Friday, as the Red Storm will face Virginia in the consolation round of the Baha Mar Hoops Championship. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.