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The scene after St. John's took a 57-55 lead with 4:43 remaining. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The St. John's Red Storm notched another signature win, as they pulled away down the stretch to outlast Marquette, 70-64, on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
There was superb crowd of 16,521 fans on hand for the Red Storm's first game as a No. 10 ranked team in country, per the USA Today poll (No. 12 in the AP one), their first time in the Top 10 since the 1998-99 season.
This was St. John's ninth straight victory - they are unbeaten in 2025 - as they improved their overall record to 20-3, already matching their win total from last season. Their record in Big East play is now a superb 11-1, best in the conference.
Marquette, No. 11 in both the AP and USA Today polls, entered this in second place in the Big East, fell to 9-3 in conference play, with an overall record of 11-5.
The game opened with a big statement from St. John's, as they raced out to a 9-3 lead in the first five minutes. Marquette would respond with a 13-2 run, and after trading runs, they held a 31-30 edge at halftime.
St. John's opened the second half with a flurry of activity, as they went on an 8-0 run, capped by a Kadary Richmond layup after he snatched an offensive rebound at the 16:55 mark.
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Kadary Richmond's layup, as seen in this first of five images. All photos by Jason Schott. |
Marquette responded with a 5-0 run, and even though St. John's maintained the lead for most of the second half, they would take the lead, at 55-54, with 5:20 left, on a Kam Jones three-pointer.
Deivon Smith made one of two free throws to tie it at 55 with 5:09 remaining, and then after Jones missed a jumper, Smith made a a fastbreak layup to put them up two at 4:43.
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Five alive: the moment there were exactly 5:00 left in the game with the score tied at 55. Photo by Jason Schott. |
After Marquette tied it at 57 on a pair of free throws by Chase Ross at 4:30, the Red Storm responded with a game-defining 9-2 run capped by an Aaron Scott dunk to make it 66-59 with 1:37 left.
St. John's shot 43.3 percent, or 13-30, including 1-7 from behind the arc, in the second half, with the only real minus the 13-22 they shot at the free throw line.
Marquette was held to just 29.03 percent, or 9-31, from the field, including 3-15 on three-pointers, in the second half, after they put up a 56.52 percent (13-23) shooting mark in the first half.
This was just the type of win St. John's has gotten all year, whereas Saturday - when they coughed up a 19-point lead before gutting out a 68-66 win over Providence - was a massive departure.
St. John's was led by Kadary Richmond, who had 18 points, including 10 in the second half, on 8-14 shooting, with 11 rebounds for a double-double, as well as eight assists, two steals, and a block.
RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor also notched double-doubles. Luis Jr. had 17 points (6-17 FG, 1-4 three-pointers) and 11 rebounds, with four steals, three assists, and three blocks. Ejiofor had 13 points (3-5 FG, 7-11 free throws) and 13 rebounds, with an assist.
PITINO POSTGAME: St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino addressed the media after the game, and he opened with this statement: “Obviously, I’ve been coaching a long, long time, and statistically, I see things that I don't quite believe. If you pick up the stat sheet at halftime, you would think we were down 15, we have got to come back, and we're down one. The statistical data does not mean anything with these guys. Zero. Now, Kadary [Richmond] had been very well coached at Seton Hall, as we know, but he's taken his game from a conditioning standpoint, from an offensive standpoint. Now, he plays full court, hard, the entire night, big-time basketball player. RJ [Luis Jr.], I've always felt as one of the premier talents in the country because he does so many things - great hands, great feet. The two of them really having a tremendous year. I'm really proud of this victory because they don't get down about missed free throws, they don't get down about shooting percentages, they just get on to the next play and that's exciting. The Garden was electric again tonight. We're super excited about it.”
On the effort the team exudes: “You come in at halftime and they're shooting 56% from the field, 50% from the three, and you're probably down 14-to-16 points, and you're down one. This is a very unique team. They deny statistical data, they just defy all statistical data. In almost every single game, their effort level is so incredibly high. It's been a long time since I've seen something like this. Effort level-wise, real proud of that. Great win, great team that we beat. We shoot 17-of-31 from the foul line, but we get 50 rebounds to 28. Heck of a basketball team that just plays so hard, so hard. As a coach, I can't appreciate anything more than this. I'm so full of gratitude to see players play this hard. It's exciting.”
On Kadary Richmond’s conditioning: “I think [Seton Hall Head Coach] Shaheen Holloway did a fabulous job preparing him, and I think that he has taken his conditioning level to an all-time high. He can play a whole game without getting tired. That wasn't the case. He doesn't take plays off. You're seeing a well, well-oiled, conditioned basketball player who makes big plays. Great player, great player, excited to have him.”
On making up for missing free throws tonight: “You can't control missed free throws. You can't control a missed shot, but you can control what you do at the defensive end, with blocking out, with rotating, with doing all the right things, you can control those things, but you can't worry about missed free throws. Tonight, we missed a lot, but we took 31 free throws, and I thought we played a brilliant game. We just don't ever get discouraged. We stick with the game plan. It's exciting to see Madison Square Garden like this. It's exciting to see my team win in an old-fashioned way, which is good ole hard work.”
On learning lessons and staying positive: “You can't get down. You've got to stay up with every single play. It's all about the next play and we've sort of taken that on. Don't worry about a missed shot. Don't worry about a mistake. We did some great things down the stretch, we dug in. They're a wonderful basketball team, extremely well coached, and we're very appreciative we came away with a victory."
On the team’s collective defense: “I thought all the guys played great defense. They help each other, they switch. This is a relentless defensive team, and you see it all the time with the shot clock winding down. They bank one in. This is a relentless group. A relentless group that's totally bought into stopping every play.”
On this year’s St. John’s team: “I'm so proud of this team. I've been proud of a lot of teams, but I'm so proud of this team. They just are so refreshing with the way they play and how hard they play. They deserve all the credit in the world.”
On the fan support this year: “This has been so much fun coaching this group. Seeing The Garden the way The Garden is, is so much fun. Seeing St. John's come back is so much fun. I'm having a blast coaching these guys. I'm having a blast seeing The Garden explode like this. I'm so happy for the fans and so appreciative of everybody coming out and being supportive of us. We have a long way to go. The great thing about coaching this team is we still have a lot of improvement to make, really a lot of improvement to make.”
On Kadary Richmond: “He's a humble superstar. And I'll tell you, in this day and age, you don't get Kadary Richmond’s anymore. You don't get that; talking about the team, deferring the praise to somebody else, Kadary has been a joy to coach. A humble, hard-working guy who's getting better at his age, he's like a fine wine. He’s just getting better and he's just a great teammate. He doesn't look for credit, he doesn't look for praise. He makes a mistake, he goes, ‘It's on me.’ I wish they would all act like that, but he's a pro. He's a professional. He acts that way. So, I'm very lucky to have him.”
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