The torches and pitchforks were ready.
After displaying its best all-around execution in more than a month, St. John’s wasted a 17-point second-half lead and scared thousands at Carnesecca Arena as the Johnnies’ lead over Seton Hall fell to one in the final seconds. But the struggling Red Storm’s room for error was large enough, allowing them to hold on for a 77-76 win on Thursday night to pick up their first conference victory of the season.
After breaking a five-game losing streak in the Big East, St. John’s (11-8, 1-5) travels for back-to-back games in the Midwest, at Butler on Saturday and at Big East-leading Creighton on Tuesday.
Seton Hall had a chance to win with 4.3 seconds remaining, but having to go the length of the floor, Fuquan Edwin had the ball knocked away by Sir’Dominic Pointer at half court and the Pirates were unable to get a shot off.
Pointer had allowed the Pirates that opportunity after throwing a ball out of bounds — from one end of the court to the other — with no teammate even close to the ball.
After scoring four points in the first half, JaKarr Sampson helped break open a back-and-forth battle, electrifying the crowd with two emphatic dunks, and scoring 12 in the second half to help St. John’s go on a 13-0 run and take a 65-48 lead with less than nine minutes remaining. The Red Storm just couldn’t hold the lead, letting the Pirates (11-8, 2-4) begin a miraculous comeback with an immediate 12-2 run.
Sterling Gibbs led the Pirates with 20 points.
St. John’s followed the season’s script early, falling behind in the first few minutes, with the Pirates jumping out to a 13-3 lead in a little over four minutes, following back-to-back 3-pointers from Brian Oliver. Before the crowd at Carnesecca could take their Chris Mullin bobbleheads and go home, the Red Storm finally combined their desperation with as much focus as has been exhibited all season.
Orlando Sanchez prevented the early deficit from becoming their downfall by showing an unusual level of aggression and scoring 11 first-half points, while D’Angelo Harrison added eight.
As usual, St. John’s was hurt on the glass early, but the team’s rare use of constant full court pressure resulted in 15 first-half turnovers from Seton Hall, allowing the Storm to take a 35-29 halftime lead.