St. John's rally falls just short vs. No. 17 Marquette
Daniss Jenkins of the St. John's Red Storm reacts after missing his shot at the buzzer on the second half against the Golden Eagles at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
And the big-game heartbreakers just keep on coming for St. John’s.
With Rick Pitino back on the sideline after missing one game because of a bout with COVID-19, the Red Storm had a real shot at their highest-profile win of the season on Saturday. They again came up just short, though, falling to 17th-ranked Marquette, 73-72, before 12,214 at Madison Square Garden.
After taking a 71-58 lead on David Joplin's three-pointer with 6:20 remaining, which capped a 15-2 run, the Golden Eagles left the door open for the Red Storm, going 0-for-2 from the field with four turnovers the rest of the way and missing all four of their free throws in the final 2:05.
With Daniss Jenkins scoring eight points in a game-ending 14-2 run and Joel Soriano hitting a layup to bring St. John's within 73-71 with 1:35 left, the Red Storm had three excellent chances to tie the score or take a lead in the final 38.9 seconds but couldn’t convert any of them.
Jenkins could have tied it at 73 by hitting two free throws but missed the second. After Marquette missed the front end of a one-and-one, Chris Ledlum had an open three-pointer from the corner that didn’t fall. And after the Eagles missed the front end of another one-and-one, Jenkins had an open three-pointer just before the buzzer that hit the front of the rim.
Asked if he thought the final shot would fall, Jenkins replied, “I definitely did. I was hurt because I didn't hold my follow-through. I know that's why I missed the shot. The shot was right on line; it was just short.”
“I can’t ask for a better shot than that — he was wide open,” Pitino said. “I fell down thinking it was going in. I thought it was dead on. I thought Ledlum’s shot was dead on.”
St. John’s (12-7, 4-4) has played three nationally ranked opponents and lost all three games by a total of six points. It has lost three straight, with the one-point losses to the Golden Eagles (13-5, 5-3) and No. 18 Creighton sandwiching an abysmal showing against Seton Hall.
RJ Luis had 20 points and three steals and Jenkins added 16 points but committed six turnovers for St. John’s. An inspired Ledlum had 13 points and 11 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass, and Soriano had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Jordan Dingle missed a second straight game because of illness and Nahiem Alleyne left the game with a sprained right ankle that Pitino said likely will keep him out for a significant amount of time.
Forward/center Oso Ighodaro had 17 points and point guard Tyler Kolek, the 2023 Big East Player of the Year, added 15 points, 11 assists and six rebounds for Marquette. Kolek hit two free throws with 2:55 left that gave Marquette a 73-66 lead, making him 48-for-51 this season, but missed all three of his free throws in the final 2:05.
Both Igahdoro and Kolek had 11 of their points in the second half, when the Golden Eagles shot a blistering 75% from the floor, including 6-for-9 on three-pointers, and turned a six-point halftime deficit into the 13-point lead.
“Those two guys play like Stockton and Malone,” Pitino said. “They’re very good with each other.”
The Red Storm shot well early but sabotaged themselves with turnovers until the late going before halftime. With Soriano and Jenkins on the bench, Ledlum and Zuby Ejiofor — along with Simeon Wilcher, Brady Dunlap and Glenn Taylor — took St. John’s on a 14-2 run for a 34-24 lead when Ledlum put back his own miss with 1:28 in the half. The Red Storm led 34-28 at the break after holding the Golden Eagles to 0-for-11 shooting on three-point attempts.
Asked if St. John’s is bound to get a win over a ranked foe, Jenkins replied, “I know we will . . . we’re showing great strides. I know we’ll get these teams when we see them again.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
