St. John's survives Providence's second-half surge, remains on top of Big East
RJ Luis Jr. of the St. John's Red Storm grabs a rebound during the final seconds of a game against the Providence Friars at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
When Rick Pitino took the St. John’s head coaching job, his love for Madison Square Garden was evident.
During Wednesday night’s game against Providence, the Garden roared with alternating waves from both the St. John’s faithful and visiting Friars fans, creating an electric, but somewhat-neutral environment. The Red Storm’s 11-point halftime lead turned into a brief second-half deficit then a 13-point lead, but the Friars showed heart.
Trailing by three with the ball, Providence’s Devin Carter hit a layup to cut St. John’s lead to one with 9.8 seconds remaining. With the Providence fans roaring, St. John’s freshman Brady Dunlap missed both free throws with 6.7 seconds left. RJ Luis was there for the clutch offensive rebound, though, hitting one free throw to extend the lead to two with 4.7 seconds remaining.
“[RJ is] a great talent,” Pitino said. “That rebound saved the game.”
St. John’s got the ensuing defensive stop as Long Island Lutheran graduate Jayden Pierre’s three at the buzzer was off, staving off a ferocious Providence effort in a 75-73 victory.
St. John’s (12-4, 4-1) left a positive impression in the first of six Big East home games at the Garden, with both the building’s and the team’s energy providing a sneak peek of what Pitino envisioned from the jump.
“The Garden is [where] everybody dreams of playing,” Pitino said. “ . . . It’s crazy — maybe because of my age — but I tear up every time the starting lineup happens because of my memories of Madison Square Garden.”
Joel Soriano and Daniss Jenkins each had 16 points to lead St. John’s. Carter had 31 points and Pierre had 17 points for Providence (11-5, 2-3).
Through five Big East games, St. John’s is tied with Seton Hall atop the conference. St. John’s is 4-1 in Big East play for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
St. John’s held a wire-to-wire lead in each of its first three Big East wins, a direction it looked like Wednesday’s game was taking before Providence’s second-half push. St. John’s ultimately led for 38:42.
Providence came out on fire to start the second half, going on a 10-0 run to cut the St. John’s lead to 42-39 with 16:40 left. It grabbed its first lead of the game at 45-44 with 14:30 left to play on a Carter transition layup.
“They were playing very hard around that time,” Jenkins said. “They had a lot of energy. They were getting loud. And I just told the guys, ‘Just take deep breaths, but now we got to fight fire with fire.’”
Over the next 6:15, St. John’s showed the defensive intensity needed to succeed in the Big East. Defense led to offense as the Red Storm answered with a 17-3 run, attacking offensively from all three levels to grab a 61-48 lead with 8:15 left.
Pitino was Providence’s head coach from 1985-87, leading the Friars to the 1987 Final Four a few months before accepting the Knicks’ head coaching job.
“Providence is my unofficial alma mater,” Pitino said. “I was only there two years, but the best two years of my life.”
Dunlap keyed a tremendous start for the Red Storm, scoring seven points in the first 2:33 as part of a 10-0 start.
Forward Chris Ledlum, who had missed two of the previous three games with a sprained ankle, checked in with 13:34 left in the first half despite being labeled “doubtful” by Pitino Tuesday. He finished with three points and six rebounds in 15 minutes.
Providence cut its deficit to 24-17 with 7:35 left in the first half, but St. John’s carried a 40-29 lead into halftime.
The Friars could not get within nine points in the final 6:15 of the half. St. John’s shot 57% in the first 20 minutes, including 5-for-11 from three-point range.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
