MILWAUKEE — D’Angelo Harrison and JaKarr Sampson strode into the interview room like conquering heroes, unable to hide their ear-to-ear smiles.
At several different junctures in Saturday’s afternoon clash with dogged Marquette, St. John’s looked as if it would end up on the short end of a debilitating loss, a setback that would crush its NCAA Tournament at-large hopes.
There was the end of regulation, when St. John’s coughed up a six-point lead with 11.4 seconds left. There were deficits late in each overtime, Marquette with the ball and the opportunity to win at the buzzer both times.
Yet, when the final horn sounded, after 50 minutes of basketball, St. John’s arguably captured its most satisfying victory of the season, a resume-building 91-90 double-overtime triumph at Bradley Center that boosted its Big Dance hopes.
“We just know this was a big-time win and we knew this was a must-win for us,” said Sampson, grinning widely. “We’ve come so far from the beginning of this season as a team. It’s big to win one like this as a team.”
From 0-5 and last place in the Big East to finishing 10-8, dealing with so much heartbreak, three players losing people close to them of late, the Red Storm had a moment to cherish Saturday, and hope to have a few more.
St. John’s will enter next week’s Big East Tournament at the Garden with major momentum and the fifth seed after its second straight victory. Coach Steve Lavin’s team will play in Thursday’s quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. against Providence in what likely will amount to an NCAA Tournament elimination game.
Freshman point guard Rysheed Jordan’s free throw with 19.5 seconds left in the second overtime proved to be the difference, after Marquette’s Derrick Wilson missed from the left baseline at the buzzer. Harrison, however, had the biggest shot, a game-tying 3-pointer with 57 seconds left from so far out on the right wing, it felt like he was in another state.
“He backed up and Coach [Steve Lavin] tells me to be aggressive, so I was,” Harrison said. “I made a shot — big shot.”
There were plenty of those, from both sides in the roller coaster of a Big East finale, which featured 18 ties and 15 lead changes.
The Johnnies seemed to have the game all but wrapped up in regulation, up 72-66 with 11.4 seconds left, before they came undone. Davante Gardner hit two free throws, then St. John’s turned it over, directly leading to a Jake Thomas layup. After Orlando Sanchez missed a free throw, Todd Mayo sank a runner at the buzzer.
St. John’s (20-11, 10-8) led 78-74 in the first overtime, before Marquette ripped off six straight points. Sanchez pulled the Golden Eagles even on a reverse layup with 1:17 to go, and Jordan hit one of two free throws with 15.9 seconds left to force the second extra session. Jordan made sure Mayo didn’t break the Johnnies’ hearts again, as he stripped the guard before he could get off a potential game-winning shot.
“There were so many big plays, big stops, big shots, big sequences, but the headline, the big picture for us, is we continue to improve and elevate our level of play,” Lavin said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this group and happy for them that they got to experience a win like this because they deserve it with the challenges they’ve gone through, both on the court and off.”
Jordan turned in one of his best all-around performances of the year after missing last Sunday’s win over DePaul to grieve for his deceased aunt. The freshman point guard played under control and was effective, scoring 20 points, adding six assists and five steals. Sampson and Harrison also had 20 apiece while Gardner scored 21 for Marquette.