PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Do you dare to dream?
Do you dare believe St. John’s chemistry has finally matched its talent? Do you dare entertain the idea the Red Storm can continue an improbable march through the Big East into the heart of the NCAA Tournament bubble?
If you watched the first half of Tuesday night’s 86-76 victory over Providence at Dunkin Donuts Center, you could imagine St. John’s accomplishing anything.
In a performance that opened with equal parts exhilaration and efficiency, the Red Storm (14-9, 4-6) avenged a double-overtime loss to the third-place Friars (16-7, 6-4) and handed Providence its second home loss of the season (11-2).
St. John’s picked up its fifth win in the past six games after scoring a season-high 53 points in the first half, on 61 percent shooting from the field, with only one turnover.
“[Our confidence] is definitely through the roof,” said D’Angelo Harrison, who finished with a team-high 22 points. “The chemistry’s definitely rising. This is what we’re capable of. We’re excited about it, but it’s something we were supposed to do from the get-go.”
St. John’s looked unstoppable early on, running a breathtaking fast break which doubled as a layup line, while protecting the rim as if a Providence point would harm a loved one.
Freshman guard Rysheed Jordan had the latest best game of his young career, exhibiting jaw-dropping spin moves quicker than a blink, two 3-pointers and unparalleled court vision. The Philly phenom posted a season-high 18 points, with six assists and three steals in 39 minutes.
Jordan’s improved play has been the spark for the team’s best stretch of the season, his growing familiarity with teammates a reason to believe it may only be beginning.
“The game is just slowing down for him. He’s making all the right decisions,” said JaKarr Sampson, who scored 13 of the team’s first 26 points, and finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. “Whenever your point guard is doing good, the team is normally going to do good. He’s stepping up big time.”
The Red Storm — who led 53-37 at the half — spent 25 minutes creating a masterpiece, then nearly burned it all into a pile of unrecognizable ashes.
After a Harrison 3-pointer put the Johnnies up 67-44 with 14:50 remaining, the Friars — led by Bryce Cotton’s 32 points — went on a 19-2 run over the next 6:38.
Though the Storm’s lead would be trimmed to five in the final minute, Harrison — playing the final 7:55 with four fouls — quieted the crazed crowd by hitting eight free throws in the final 1:43 (11 of 12 overall).
“It just showed we’re getting older and more mature,” Sampson said. “I feel like last year we would have kept bleeding and they would have ended up taking the lead. We got big stops and we stopped the bleeding.”
The five straight losses by St. John’s to open Big East play are a distant memory, but one still worth remembering.
It wasn’t a bad dream, it was a learning experience.
“I think the real growth happens during adversity, during the dark times,” coach Steve Lavin said. “The real strength comes from challenging stretches in our life. … I’m really proud of the kids because it’s tough to start out your conference in the hole 0-5, and it speaks volumes of our players’ resiliency.”