No. 20 St. John's rallies past Xavier 79-71 in overtime behind Ejiofor and Richmond
NEW YORK (AP) Zuby Ejiofor scored six of his 16 points in overtime and No. 20 St. John's erased a 16-point deficit in the second half to rally past Xavier 79-71 on Wednesday night.
Kadary Richmond had a season-high 19 points for the Red Storm (17-3, 8-1 Big East). They have won six straight and 12 of 13 in their second season under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
Returning to the AP Top 25 this week with its highest ranking in a decade, St. John's regained sole possession of first place in the conference standings - a half-game ahead of No. 10 Marquette.
RJ Luis Jr. scored all 16 of his points after halftime, and Simeon Wilcher also finished with 16 for the Red Storm. Richmond added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals - with no turnovers in 44 minutes - before a boisterous crowd of 14,545 at Madison Square Garden.
Ryan Conwell had 21 points for the Musketeers (12-8, 4-5), who had won three in a row. Dailyn Swain scored 16 before exiting with a sprained ankle late in the second half.
St. John's point guard Deivon Smith sat out for the second time in three games with an ailing right shoulder he injured during a Jan. 11 victory over Villanova.
Xavier: After a slow start to Big East play, the Musketeers are beginning to show why they were picked third in the league's preseason coaches' poll. The schedule gets much easier down the stretch, too.
St. John's: Looking for its first Big East regular-season title since 1992 under coach Lou Carnesecca. The program is off to its best start since opening 20-2 in 1985-86, and the Red Storm are 8-1 in Big East play for the first time since 1999.
Richmond's driving layup with 1:03 left in regulation sent the game to overtime tied at 65, and St. John’s scored the first eight points of the extra period - six by Ejiofor.
St. John's went 1 for 12 from 3-point range and still improved to 13-0 at home.
Xavier: Another tough challenge Saturday night at home against No. 19 UConn, the two-time defending national champion.
St. John's: At old rival Georgetown next Tuesday night. St. John's rallied from 15 down to beat the Hoyas 63-58 at MSG on Jan. 14.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Â | Zach Freemantle vs. Zuby Ejiofor (Kadary Richmond gains possession) | Â | |
19:33 | Â | Dayvion McKnight shooting foul (Simeon Wilcher draws the foul) | Â | |
19:33 | +1 | Simeon Wilcher makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 0-1 | |
19:33 | +1 | Simeon Wilcher makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 0-2 | |
19:05 | +2 | Zach Freemantle makes two point layup (Marcus Foster assists) | 2-2 | |
18:45 | Â | Kadary Richmond misses two point layup | Â | |
18:43 | Â | Musketeers defensive rebound | Â | |
18:25 | +2 | Zach Freemantle makes two point hook shot (Dayvion McKnight assists) | 4-2 | |
18:02 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. misses three point jump shot | Â | |
18:00 | Â | Marcus Foster defensive rebound | Â | |
17:48 | Â | Dayvion McKnight misses two point jump shot | Â | |
17:46 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound | Â | |
17:37 | Â | Aaron Scott misses three point jump shot | Â | |
17:35 | Â | Marcus Foster defensive rebound | Â | |
17:30 | +3 | Dayvion McKnight makes three point jump shot (Marcus Foster assists) | 7-2 | |
17:01 | Â | Dailyn Swain blocks RJ Luis Jr.'s two point layup | Â | |
17:00 | Â | Dailyn Swain defensive rebound | Â | |
17:00 | Â | Jump ball. Dailyn Swain vs. RJ Luis Jr. (Dailyn Swain gains possession) | Â | |
16:44 | Â | Ryan Conwell misses three point jump shot | Â | |
16:42 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound | Â | |
16:31 | Â | Ruben Prey turnover (bad pass) (Zach Freemantle steals) | Â | |
16:19 | Â | Dayvion McKnight turnover (lost ball) (Ruben Prey steals) | Â | |
16:13 | Â | Aaron Scott misses two point layup | Â | |
16:11 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor offensive rebound | Â | |
16:10 | Â | Zach Freemantle blocks Zuby Ejiofor's two point layup | Â | |
16:08 | Â | Red Storm offensive rebound | Â | |
16:06 | +2 | Simeon Wilcher makes two point layup (Kadary Richmond assists) | 7-4 | |
15:50 | Â | Zach Freemantle turnover (lost ball) (Kadary Richmond steals) | Â | |
15:41 | Â | Zach Freemantle shooting foul (Zuby Ejiofor draws the foul) | Â | |
15:41 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
15:41 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â | |
15:41 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | Â | |
15:41 | Â | Dailyn Swain defensive rebound | Â | |
15:14 | Â | Zach Freemantle misses two point hook shot | Â | |
15:12 | Â | Ruben Prey defensive rebound | Â | |
14:58 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor turnover (bad pass) (Jerome Hunter steals) | Â | |
14:36 | Â | Ryan Conwell misses two point jump shot | Â | |
14:33 | Â | Red Storm defensive rebound | Â | |
14:14 | +2 | Kadary Richmond makes two point layup (Simeon Wilcher assists) | 7-6 | |
14:01 | Â | Dayvion McKnight misses two point layup | Â | |
13:59 | Â | Red Storm defensive rebound | Â | |
13:46 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor misses two point layup | Â | |
13:44 | Â | John Hugley IV defensive rebound | Â | |
13:26 | Â | Jerome Hunter offensive foul (Simeon Wilcher draws the foul) | Â | |
13:26 | Â | Jerome Hunter turnover (offensive foul) | Â | |
13:08 | Â | Kadary Richmond misses two point jump shot | Â | |
13:05 | Â | Red Storm offensive rebound | Â | |
13:04 | Â | John Hugley IV shooting foul (Vince Iwuchukwu draws the foul) | Â | |
13:04 | +1 | Vince Iwuchukwu makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 7-7 | |
13:04 | +1 | Vince Iwuchukwu makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 7-8 | |
12:50 | +2 | Ryan Conwell makes two point layup (John Hugley IV assists) | 9-8 | |
12:24 | +2 | Vince Iwuchukwu makes two point layup | 9-10 | |
12:24 | Â | Marcus Foster shooting foul (Vince Iwuchukwu draws the foul) | Â | |
12:24 | +1 | Vince Iwuchukwu makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 9-11 | |
12:06 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. personal foul (Marcus Foster draws the foul) | Â | |
11:50 | Â | Dayvion McKnight misses two point jump shot | Â | |
11:48 | Â | Red Storm defensive rebound | Â | |
11:48 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
11:36 | Â | Jaiden Glover misses three point jump shot | Â | |
11:34 | Â | Dailyn Swain defensive rebound | Â | |
11:28 | +3 | Marcus Foster makes three point jump shot (Dailyn Swain assists) | 12-11 | |
11:07 | Â | Simeon Wilcher misses two point layup | Â | |
11:05 | Â | Simeon Wilcher offensive rebound | Â | |
11:04 | Â | Jump ball. Simeon Wilcher vs. Dayvion McKnight (Dayvion McKnight gains possession) | Â | |
11:04 | Â | Simeon Wilcher turnover (lost ball) (Dayvion McKnight steals) | Â | |
10:44 | Â | Zach Freemantle misses three point jump shot | Â | |
10:42 | Â | Vince Iwuchukwu defensive rebound | Â | |
10:35 | Â | Kadary Richmond misses two point layup | Â | |
10:33 | Â | Kadary Richmond offensive rebound | Â | |
10:30 | +2 | Kadary Richmond makes two point layup | 12-13 | |
10:14 | Â | Vince Iwuchukwu shooting foul (Dailyn Swain draws the foul) | Â | |
10:14 | +1 | Dailyn Swain makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 13-13 | |
10:14 | +1 | Dailyn Swain makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 14-13 | |
9:56 | +3 | Simeon Wilcher makes three point jump shot (RJ Luis Jr. assists) | 14-16 | |
9:48 | Â | Vince Iwuchukwu blocks Dailyn Swain's two point layup | Â | |
9:48 | Â | Musketeers offensive rebound | Â | |
9:44 | Â | Aaron Scott blocks Marcus Foster's two point layup | Â | |
9:42 | Â | Musketeers offensive rebound | Â | |
9:36 | +2 | Zach Freemantle makes two point hook shot (Dailyn Swain assists) | 16-16 | |
9:18 | Â | Kadary Richmond misses two point jump shot | Â | |
9:16 | Â | Ryan Conwell defensive rebound | Â | |
9:09 | Â | Zach Freemantle misses two point jump shot | Â | |
9:07 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. defensive rebound | Â | |
8:58 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. misses two point layup | Â | |
8:56 | Â | Aaron Scott offensive rebound | Â | |
8:54 | +2 | Aaron Scott makes two point layup | 16-18 | |
8:31 | +2 | Dailyn Swain makes two point layup (Dayvion McKnight assists) | 18-18 | |
8:06 | Â | Simeon Wilcher turnover (bad pass) (Marcus Foster steals) | Â | |
8:02 | Â | Kadary Richmond blocks Ryan Conwell's two point layup | Â | |
8:00 | Â | Marcus Foster offensive rebound | Â | |
7:51 | +3 | Ryan Conwell makes three point jump shot (Dailyn Swain assists) | 21-18 | |
7:33 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. misses two point jump shot | Â | |
7:31 | Â | Zach Freemantle defensive rebound | Â | |
7:21 | +2 | Dailyn Swain makes two point layup (Dayvion McKnight assists) | 23-18 | |
7:19 | Â | Red Storm 30 second timeout | Â | |
7:19 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
7:00 | +2 | Simeon Wilcher makes two point layup | 23-20 | |
6:35 | +2 | Ryan Conwell makes two point layup | 25-20 | |
6:23 | Â | Simeon Wilcher misses two point jump shot | Â | |
6:21 | Â | Ryan Conwell defensive rebound | Â | |
6:10 | Â | John Hugley IV turnover (lost ball) (Kadary Richmond steals) | Â | |
5:57 | +2 | Kadary Richmond makes two point jump shot | 25-22 | |
5:26 | Â | Aaron Scott personal foul (Dayvion McKnight draws the foul) | Â | |
5:10 | Â | Ruben Prey shooting foul (Dayvion McKnight draws the foul) | Â | |
5:10 | +1 | Dayvion McKnight makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-22 | |
5:10 | +1 | Dayvion McKnight makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 27-22 | |
4:55 | Â | Ruben Prey misses three point jump shot | Â | |
4:53 | Â | Zach Freemantle defensive rebound | Â | |
4:47 | +2 | Dailyn Swain makes two point layup (Ryan Conwell assists) | 29-22 | |
4:30 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. misses three point jump shot | Â | |
4:28 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor offensive rebound | Â | |
4:07 | +2 | Kadary Richmond makes two point jump shot (Simeon Wilcher assists) | 29-24 | |
3:47 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor shooting foul (Dailyn Swain draws the foul) | Â | |
3:47 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
3:47 | +1 | Dailyn Swain makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 30-24 | |
3:47 | +1 | Dailyn Swain makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-24 | |
3:34 | +2 | Zuby Ejiofor makes two point dunk (Kadary Richmond assists) | 31-26 | |
3:20 | +2 | Zach Freemantle makes two point hook shot (Jerome Hunter assists) | 33-26 | |
3:08 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. turnover (lost ball) (Ryan Conwell steals) | Â | |
3:05 | Â | Simeon Wilcher blocks Ryan Conwell's two point layup | Â | |
3:05 | Â | Musketeers offensive rebound | Â | |
2:59 | Â | Sadiku Ibine Ayo personal foul (Jerome Hunter draws the foul) | Â | |
2:49 | Â | Aaron Scott personal foul (Zach Freemantle draws the foul) | Â | |
2:49 | +1 | Zach Freemantle makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 34-26 | |
2:49 | +1 | Zach Freemantle makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 35-26 | |
2:35 | Â | Jerome Hunter blocks Kadary Richmond's two point layup | Â | |
2:33 | Â | Zach Freemantle defensive rebound | Â | |
2:23 | +3 | Ryan Conwell makes three point jump shot (Zach Freemantle assists) | 38-26 | |
1:59 | Â | Ryan Conwell personal foul (Sadiku Ibine Ayo draws the foul) | Â | |
1:58 | Â | Simeon Wilcher misses three point jump shot | Â | |
1:55 | Â | Musketeers defensive rebound | Â | |
1:30 | Â | Simeon Wilcher shooting foul (Ryan Conwell draws the foul) | Â | |
1:30 | +1 | Ryan Conwell makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 39-26 | |
1:30 | +1 | Ryan Conwell makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 40-26 | |
1:07 | +2 | Zuby Ejiofor makes two point hook shot (Jaiden Glover assists) | 40-28 | |
0:47 | Â | Dailyn Swain turnover (lost ball) | Â | |
0:27 | Â | Sadiku Ibine Ayo misses three point jump shot | Â | |
0:25 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor offensive rebound | Â | |
0:17 | Â | Dayvion McKnight shooting foul (Sadiku Ibine Ayo draws the foul) | Â | |
0:17 | +1 | Sadiku Ibine Ayo makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 40-29 | |
0:17 | +1 | Sadiku Ibine Ayo makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 40-30 | |
0:04 | Â | Ryan Conwell misses two point layup | Â | |
0:02 | Â | Ruben Prey defensive rebound | Â | |
0:01 | Â | Ruben Prey misses three point jump shot | Â | |
0:00 | Â | End of period | Â |