Juniors can't rescue St. John's on Senior Night

St. John's did just about everything it could to give this one away. The hurried shots. The turnovers. And of course, there was Sean Evans' inadvertent impersonation of Patrick Ewing circa 1995.

On this particular Senior Night, it was the juniors who tried, though unsuccessfully, to rescue the Red Storm.

Malik Boothe forced overtime with a corner three-pointer at the end of regulation and D.J. Kennedy scored a team-high 20 points. But it was Marquette's Jimmy Butler who had the final say, sinking an off-balance jumper at the overtime buzzer to give the Golden Eagles a 63-61 victory last night at Carnesecca Arena.

It was the first overtime game for St. John's since March 3, 2009, when it defeated Georgetown, 59-56.

Dwight Hardy added 12 points for St. John's (15-12, 5-10), which lost its second Big East game in a week. Senior Anthony Mason Jr., who was honored before the game (and flanked by his father and former Knick Anthony Mason and mother Monica Bryant), chipped in eight points.

Marquette's Lazar Hayward had 24 points and Butler scored 16.

Boothe, who was left unguarded in front of the St. John's bench with seconds left in regulation, nailed a three-pointer to tie the score at 54. Boothe stood still for a moment as he watched his perfectly arced shot swish through the net. But overtime would not prove to be so easy.

The five-minute extra period was a nail-biter for the fans. After Marquette (18-9, 9-6) took a 57-54 lead on free throws, Kennedy tied the score with a conventional three-point play and later tied it at 59 with two free throws.

It appeared the game might head into double overtime after Boothe stripped Butler on a shot attempt as the seconds ticked by. But Butler regained possession and sank a fallaway at the buzzer.

It was the sixth time this season St. John's blew a halftime lead. The Red Storm, which led 29-25 at the break, gave Marquette too many chances.

It was a must-win for the Red Storm, which came into the contest one game behind three teams tied for eighth place in the Big East. And things don't get easier; the Storm hosts No. 12 Pittsburgh on Saturday.

With less than eight minutes left in regulation, Evans, a 6-8 forward, came up with a steal and lumbered his way up court. Eventually he found himself all alone at the rim, but instead of stuffing the ball, Evans decided to put it up softly. And as the ball rolled off his fingertips, it clanked against the back of the rim - similar to Ewing's finger-roll attempt that rimmed out in the waning seconds of Game 7 against the Pacers in the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals.