St. John’s sees another opportunity slip through cracks in close loss at Providence

Daniss Jenkins goes up for layup, but St. John’s squandered halftime lead again Tuesday at Providence. (Photo by St. John’s Athletics)

By Jason Dimaio (@JasonDimaio1)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rinse and repeat.

In each of its last nine games, St. John’s has seemed to start and end the exact same way; beginning with a competitive streak in the first half, usually resulting in a halftime lead, before the wheels inevitably fall off in the final 20 minutes of regulation.

Tuesday was no different.

Staring in the face of a much-needed road win to remain in the NCAA Tournament bubble conversation, the Red Storm seized control against Providence going into the intermission. But for the seventh time in the last nine games, the Johnnies were unable to sustain the momentum, falling to the Friars in a 75-72 heartbreaker that drops them to 14-11 on the year, 6-8 in Big East play, and more importantly, firmly on the outside looking in as far as March Madness is concerned.

“We’ve caught a couple of close games not only the last five weeks, but throughout the whole season,” guard Sean Conway remarked as St. John’s squandered an advantage in the opening stanza for the third time in just over a week. “At the end of the day, we still have six games left. We’re not focusing on the past. I’m focused on tomorrow, the next day and the day after that. We can only control what we can.”

The start to Tuesday’s contest was not pretty, as St. John’s looked largely unsure of itself outside of Daniss Jenkins, who scored seven of the Red Storm’s first nine points. Head coach Rick Pitino shook up the starting lineup Tuesday, benching senior captain Joel Soriano in favor of Zuby Ejiofor, but the downward spiral furthered as Providence uncorked a 12-0 run that Soriano’s presumed spark off the bench was unable to extinguish. The host Friars opened a 20-7 advantage against a St. John’s team that struggled to find answers.

However, the return of Ejiofor, along with Conway and Simeon Wilcher, turned the tide as the Red Storm rode its stout defense and used it to infuse offense en route to a 23-5 spurt that put the visitors ahead at the first-half buzzer, 38-33.

On the heels of Saturday’s loss at Marquette, where St. John’s also held a halftime cushion only to see it evaporate, the sense of urgency to come out of the blocks strong was at a critical level. Unfortunately, it begat more of the same.

Ejiofor went to bench early due to foul trouble, allowing Josh Oduro to capture the moment for the Friars. The senior tallied 26 of his 28 points in the second half against a defenseless Soriano, spearheading a rally that gave Providence a seven-point lead with nine minutes to play.

St. John’s would not go quietly into the night, however, proving impossible to completely put away. The Johnnies slowly chipped away at the lead, ultimately tying the score at 70-all with 2:01 left in regulation on a Jenkins jumper, but the struggle to close out games remained evident, as Providence converted back-to-back baskets to take a four-point lead with 41 seconds remaining. Conway’s two free throws subsequently cut that deficit in half.

With 19 seconds on the clock, Pitino elected to foul Devin Carter, who split a pair of free throws to leave the door open for the Red Storm. What ensued on the following possession was rushed decision making and inefficient shot selection, as Jenkins missed a three with 10 seconds left and Jordan Dingle’s quick heave off Ejiofor’s offensive rebound missed the mark as well. Pitino had a timeout available, but eschewed the stoppage, suspecting Providence would foul if he called it.

“I knew they were going to foul,” he recounted. “I was thinking about it the entire time, but I knew they were going to foul. As long as we get a look at the basket, it’s okay, but whatever we run, they’re a team who will foul.”

St. John’s has held a halftime lead in five of its eight Big East losses, twice each against UConn and Marquette, and now Tuesday against Providence. Pitino was adamant that his team would show a much stronger hand in its remaining six contests, beginning Sunday against Seton Hall, but the Red Storm’s back stands firmly against the proverbial wall with a razor-thin margin for error.

“We know what’s at stake,” said Conway. “We obviously know what we’re capable of as a unit and we’re going to continue to work toward that goal and take it a day at a time, a game at a time.”

“That’s what competitors do, you keep fighting until your time comes,” Pitino echoed. “You never know when your time will come. Hopefully it’s this year.”