Seventy-two hours removed from all-out jubilation breaking out in Madison Square Garden, that joy was replaced by restlessness at the World’s Most Famous Arena.
St. John’s was at serious risk of spoiling the immaculate vibes produced from dispatching their biggest rival, UConn. Despite an inability to string together baskets, contain Xavier defensively, or execute late in regulation, St. John’s lived off 28 made free throws at the line and bolted off the scene with their consecutive win by holding
off Xavier in an overtime thriller on Monday night, 88-82.
Deep-range specialist Oziyah Sellers made the most important play of the game inside the arc. After a go-ahead floater by Tre Carroll put Xavier ahead by 78-76 with 46 seconds remaining, St. John’s almost blew their chance of leveling the game by missing three straight shots. Following up his own miss, Sellers wedged himself inside of a crowded paint and tipped in his own miss to level the score and ultimately send the game to overtime.
The Red Storm locked down Xavier in the extra period, holding them to 2-of-6 shooting and three turnovers in overtime, with two of those takeaways coming off from Bryce Hopkins. Being the player who brought St. John’s into overtime, Oziyah Sellers made sure Monday’s game didn’t last any longer, ending his 11-point night by making a breakaway dunk with seven seconds remaining to extend his team’s lead to five.
Both St. John’s and Xavier had eerily similar offensive nights. The Red Storm shot 42.4% from the field compared to Xavier’s 44.7% rate; each team hit on 29% or worse on their three-point attempts, and the turnover battle was virtually even.
What helped decide this game was the play at the free throw line, as the Red Storm made 28-of-41 attempts at the charity stripe compared to 9-of-17 by the Musketeers. Xavier doubled St. John’s with 30 personal fouls to their 15 calls, and those whistles added up. Jovan Milicevic (13 points), Malik Messina-Moore (11 points), and Isaiah Walker (7 points) fouled out before night’s end, and leading scorers Tre Carroll and Jovan Milicevic each had to sit for extended minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
Zuby Ejiofor’s dominance continued for another game, scoring a team-high 25 points, recording seven rebounds, and giving out five assists.
The Red Storm will have five days to recuperate before they face the Providence Friars (11-13, 4-9 Big East) on Saturday, February 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from the Amica Mutual Pavilion, and the game will be broadcast on TNT.
