Johnnies send seniors out on high note with win over Xavier in home finale

Tareq Coburn had senior day to remember, with 20 points and five 3-pointers as St. John’s exploded past Xavier. (Photo by Vincent Dusovic/St. John’s University Athletics)  

By Jason Dimaio (@JasonDimaio1)

NEW YORK — From the emotion of senior night to the honoring of a school legend in Marcus Hatten, St. John’s made sure to send its most experienced players and faithful fans happy Wednesday after a 81-66 thrashing over Xavier, completing a season sweep of the Musketeers.

And on a night where Tareq Coburn got the ceremony he was denied last year at Hofstra with the absence of fans in the stands, it was only fitting that the Queens native lit up Xavier for a game-high 20 points, torching the nets by making five of his seven 3-point attempts for what was far and away his best game with the Red Storm, eclipsing the first meeting St. John’s had against the Musketeers, where he went for 13 points.

“I don’t know if i’m ever going to play a college game here again, so I had to make it count,” Coburn reflected. “My teammates and coaches had the ultimate confidence in me.”

It wasn’t just Coburn who had the stat sheet filled up, as four other Johnnies scored in double figures, an effort that has come few and far between but was one of the few glimpses of what has been seen this season when everything is clicking for the Red Storm, now 16-13 and 8-10 in Big East play.

Offensively the game started slow, with both teams having trouble scoring initially. Xavier started the game 2-of-15 from the field as St. John’s took a 34-29 halftime lead. The Red Storm came out of the intermission getting exactly what it wanted in the second half, quickly taking a 12 point lead. But after head coach Mike Anderson rested Coburn and Aaron Wheeler, Xavier took advantage, breaking out an 11-2 run to cut the lead to three. This was as close as Xavier would get, though, as St. John’s responded with big threes from Coburn and Wheeler upon their reinsertion into the lineup, followed by Julian Champagnie hitting a jumper and then stealing the ensuing inbounds — which he converted to a layup — all within a span of five seconds. The Carnesecca Arena crowd exploded, giving Champagnie a standing ovation on what could be his final game on his home floor. St. John’s would use the momentum and close out the game from this point on.

This is the type of performance that had the Red Storm picked fourth in the Big East preseason poll: Balanced scoring, suffocating defense, stars producing. And while it may be frustrating to think a win like this could have been the one to seal an at-large bid, the focus now shifts to Saturday’s regular season finale at Marquette, before returning to Madison Square Garden for a last-ditch effort at resuscitating St. John’s NCAA Tournament hopes if it can make a run in the Big East tournament.

“There’s no time to look back,” Champagnie said. “What could have been is what could have ,been and what's not is what’s not. What it comes down to is four or five-point games that we could have won, so it’s not necessarily everyone always contributing, although that obviously helps.”