Andrew Theodorakis/New York Daily News
St. John’s guard D’Angelo Harrison, who only posted four points, looks dejected during loss.
It was St. John’s biggest game in its quest to reach the NCAA Tournament and what happened at the Garden Tuesday night was the epitome of coming up small.
The crowd that the Red Storm was going to need so much for a home court advantage was numbered generously at 6,707. The production from leading scorer D’Angelo Harrison was an anemic four points including 1-for-11 shooting from the field. And the Johnnies as a whole failed to rise to the occasion and lost the critical Big East game to Xavier 65-53.
Rysheed Jordan did not disappoint after rushing back from a death in his family to produce 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting. But that did not stop the Johnnies (18-11, 8-8) from sliding into a dangerous place. The loss to Xavier (19-9, 9-6) probably cements an NCAA trip for the Musketeers and means St. John’s probably needs to win its last two games (home Sunday against DePaul and on the road at Marquette) plus some games in the conference tournament.
It might even mean that St. John’s needs to win the Big East’s tournament as it is now in danger of haming to play an outbracket game on the first day.
St. John’s was within 55-51 with 2:39 to play and didn’t make another field goal the rest of the way.
JaKarr Sampson had 14 points, and Orlando Sanchez and Jordan 11 points each for St. John’s. Jalen Reynolds scored 17 and Semaj Christon 15 points for the Musketeers.
St. John’s shot 37% overall and was 2-for-16 on three-point shots including Harrison’s 0-for-5.
Andrew Theodorakis/New York Daily News
Rysheed Jordan rushes back from a death in the family and adds 11 points.
Sparked by a pair of baskets from Jamal Branch, St. John’s put together a 10-4 run to close Xavier’s biggest lead – 10 points – to 53-49 on a Chris Obekpa tip-in with 3:36 to play. The Muskies answered immaediately with Christon finding Matt Stainbrook for a layup.
Sanchez and Jordan both entered the game with about seven minutes gone and each made his presence felt as the Johnnies battled to halftime and trailed 31-30.
Sanchez, who missed the Storm’s Saturday loss at Villanova to be with his wife after the birth of their first child, gave St. John’s 11 points, two rebounds and an assist in eight minutes before he picked up his second foul and went back to the bench. He scored six straight to help the Johnnies get a 16-15 lead and his last two points before the break were a pair of free throws for a 24-21 lead.
Jordan left the team shortly after the loss at Wells Fargo Center Saturday, whisked away by family that attended the game after they learned the devastating news. Two bodies were found in a North Philadelphia residence, a 40-year-old male shot in the head and a 30-year-old female shot in the head. The woman was later confirmed to be a close relative of Jordan’s mother.
He had planned to stay at home with family that night but Jordan remained through Monday evening for what coach Steve Lavin said was a viewing. Lavin had a conversation with the 6-4 point guard to make sure he felt emotionally ready to play. The program announced he would play but not start about two hours before gametime.
Among the many missed chances the Storm had during the first half were two in the final 10 seconds and after the second, sparks flew between Jordan and Xavier’s Christon after they got tangled positioning for a rebound. Officials called a double-technical foul.
St. John’s did a nice job in the first half converting eight XU turnovers into 11 points, but allowed the Musketeers to shoot 56%.
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