New York, NY (Sports Network) - Vander Blue scored the game's final four
points, including a driving layup as time expired, as 15th-ranked Marquette
outlasted St. John's in a 69-67 overtime thriller in the regular-season finale
for both teams.
Blue finished with 16 points and Jamil Wilson added 14 along with eight
rebounds for Marquette (23-7, 14-4 Big East), which overcame 19 turnovers and
blew a 10-point lead with three minutes left in regulation to enter next
week's Big East Tournament on a four-game win streak.
The Golden Eagles had already sewn up one of the four double-byes for the
event and will return to MSG for a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday.
Playing without both leading scorer D'Angelo Harrison and starting forward
Sir'Dominic Porter due to suspensions, the Red Storm (16-14, 8-10) scored nine
straight points to force overtime before ultimately suffering their fourth
straight loss and sixth defeat in seven outings.
Phil Greene IV led the St. John's comeback effort with 20 points, with Jakarr
Sampson finishing with 17 in the setback.
The Red Storm will next be in action during Wednesday's second round of the
Big East Tournament.
Blue hadn't scored since the four-minute mark of the second half before taking
over during crunch time. The play-making guard first knived through the lane
and scored to forge at 67-67 tie with 48 seconds left in OT, then had the ball
in his hands following a Marquette timeout that came after the Golden Eagles
got possession after the rebound of Greene's missed 3-point try landed out of
bounds with 16 seconds on the clock.
After taking the inbounds feed, Blue dribbled near the top of the key before
blowing by a St. John's defender and putting up an off-balance shot that
swished through as the final horn sounded.
Marquette held a 61-51 lead after Wilson made 1-of-2 free throws with 3:23
left in regulation, but mustered only a pair of successful foul shots over the
duration of the second half as St. John's came storming back.
Greene began the rally with a layup that pulled the Red Storm within 63-56
with 1:48 remaining, and Marco Bourgault buried a 3-pointer on St. John's
ensuing possession before Felix Balamou's tip-in made it a two-point game
entering the final minute.
After Marquette's Junior Cadougan missed a layup try, Branch raced down the
court and converted with 27 seconds showing to tie the score at 63-63.
The Golden Eagles then failed on an opportunity to win in regulation by
turning the ball over without attempting a shot.
After the teams traded baskets to begin the extra session, St. John's Chris
Obekpa broke a 65-65 deadlock with a second-chance putback with 2:02 to go.
The Red Storm couldn't add to the margin, however, and Blue delivered the
first of his late-game makes to draw Marquette even.
St. John's had built a 23-15 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first
half on the strength of a 9-2 run, but the Golden Eagles came charging back
over the latter stages of the opening period. Marquette closed out the frame
on a 13-2 burst as the Red Storm went cold offensively, with Cadougan's 3-
pointer 37 seconds prior to intermission sending the visitors into the break
owning a 28-25 edge.
The Golden Eagles then caught fire to begin the second half, hitting their
first six shots during a 13-2 sequence that extended their cushion to 41-27
three minutes into the period.
St. John's battled back to move to within 52-48 on Greene's jumper with a
little under six minutes left, but an 8-3 spurt highlighted by treys by Wilson
and Blue put the Golden Eagles up by nine two minutes later.
Game Notes
Porter was serving a mandated one-game suspension for fighting with Notre
Dame's Cameron Biedscheid in Tuesday's 66-40 loss to the Fighting Irish, while
the university banned Harrison for the remainder of the season for undisclosed
violations last week ... St. John's went just 2-of-16 from 3-point range and
5-of-13 from the free throw line ... Marquette posted their fifth straight
road victory in the series and have taken nine of 10 matchups between the
schools since joining the Big East in 2005 ... St. John's fell to 2-7 this
season against Top 25 opponents.
The Sports Network