St. John’s rallies in second half, beats Xavier in overtime at MSG

It was hyped by Rick Pitino as “the biggest game of the year” to date for St. John’s. But the co-tenant of the top floor in the Big East standings at the opening tip and new member of the AP Top 25 had to play it on the Garden court without a big puzzle piece.

Deivon Smith had returned Saturday after a one-game absence because of a sprained right shoulder. The senior point guard was still having discomfort, took his second cortisone injection and was back sitting out Wednesday night against Xavier.

But this is a team that doesn’t blink over a missing player, or over falling into a huge hole.

The 20th-ranked Red Storm took 14,545 fans on a thrill ride. They got behind by 16 early in the second half before rallying mainly via their pressure defense to go up by three. They ultimately forced an overtime shift, then did the better work in the extra session.

The Red Storm emerged with a 79-71 win, their sixth straight and 12th in the last 13 games. It marked their second victory over Xavier and their third comeback victory after being down by at least 15.

“We needed the win as much as they did,” Pitino said. “We had to have this win. The most important thing for us is to keep improving and keep winning. We cannot take losses. It’s the non-negotiable thing for us, and that’s the attitude that we have. And that’s why we come back.

“I think these guys have a great fear of losing, a great fear. And that’s a good thing.”

Kadary Richmond scored a season-high 19, and Zuby Ejiofor, RJ Luis Jr. and Simeon Wilcher contributed 16 apiece.

So the Red Storm stand alone in first in the Big East, moving a half game ahead of Marquette at 8-1, their best start in the conference since the 1998-99 season. They moved to 17-3 overall, their best start since the 1985-86 season when they opened 20-2.

The program is seeking its first NCAA Tournament pass since 2019, which would bring a chance for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2000.

“We’re bringing St. John’s back to where it needs to be,” Pitino said.

It was 65-all heading for OT. The Red Storm scored the first eight points.

Ejiofor gave St. John’s the lead with a layup after a Richmond steal. Then Richmond drove for two. Then Ejiofor went 1-for-2 at the line — 70-65. Ejiofor then put in a rebound, got fouled and made the free throw for a 73-65 advantage with 2:00 on the clock.

The lead shrunk to 73-68. St. John’s turned it over on a backcourt violation. Jerome Hunter canned two at the line to cut it to three.

But Richmond hit one of two. Xavier came up empty and Luis hit two free throws for a 76-70 advantage. Wilcher followed with a free throw for a seven-point lead. And the Red Storm were going to win despite going 1-for-12 from three.

“What ultimately won us this game was on the defensive end,” Ejiofor said.

The Red Storm struggled offensively and were down 14 late in the first half. They trailed 40-30 at halftime, then quickly sliced it to eight. But Xavier (12-8, 4-5), which was paced by Ryan Conwell’s 21, took off. Marcus Foster’s three capped a 10-2 run.

Just 2:58 had passed and the Musketeers owned their largest lead at 50-34.

St. John’s has been a good second-half team, though. It turned up the temperature defensively. Nine of the Musketeers’ 14 turnovers came after halftime. The Red Storm allowed just 16 points over the final 15 minutes of play.

“Their pressure broke us tonight,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said.

Luis scored eight in a 12-2 run. Suddenly, the problem was down to 52-46. It got up to nine again twice.

But St. John’s kept coming. Richmond finally drove the lane for a 61-60 edge. Luis made a quick steal and scored from in close. It now was 63-60 Red Storm with 3:30 left.

After the Musketeers scored the next five to go up by two, Richmond drove for the tie with 1:03 remaining.

“Tonight I feel I was more aggressive,” the Seton Hall transfer said. “ . . . So I feel this was one of my best games in a St. John’s uniform.”