Even when the plug was being pulled, St. John’s still showed some life.
Down to the final gasps and murmurs of Chris Mullin’s first season as St. John’s coach, the Red Storm overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to lead in the final minutes of Wednesday’s Big East Tournament first-round game, but 10th-seeded St. John’s ultimately couldn’t extend its historically bad season, falling 101-93 to No. 7 Marquette at Madison Square Garden.
“Much like our whole season, I was proud of my guys’ effort,” Mullin said. “We had a tough first half, regrouped and just didn’t give up.”
Trailing 75-58 with less than 11 minutes to play, St. John’s took its first lead since the opening minutes at 89-88 — on a Ron Mvouika 3-pointer with 3:15 remaining — behind a career-high 27 points from Christian Jones, but Big East Rookie of the Year Henry Ellenson immediately responded with a corner 3-pointer, keeping Marquette in front for good.
The Red Storm had multiple game-tying attempts, but couldn’t connect and Marquette’s Jajuan Johnson sealed the game on a three-point play with 22.4 seconds left, putting the Golden Eagles up six.
St. John’s (8-24) finished the year with five straight losses and the third-worst winning percentage in the 100-plus years of the program’s history, having won just once in the past 12 weeks. The Red Storm still has not won a Big East Tournament game since 2011.
“The results are frustrating, don’t get me wrong, but the future is bright and part of it is going through these tough times,” Mullin said. “It’s about not blaming the past, not worrying about the future, handling the tough emotions and trying to find solutions. … In this long season, that’s what they did. They didn’t talk about it, they didn’t waver at all. That’s what they did each and every day. They’ll be better for it.
“We’ll flip it around and we’ll have the same approach and I think that’s how you build success. I do think it will serve them well as we move forward.”
St. John’s shot an uncharacteristically solid 54 percent from the field, but the young Red Storm regressed elsewhere, allowing a season-high 101 points. Led by Ellenson’s 27 points and 14 rebounds, Marquette (20-12) made 38-of-43 free throws in the foul-plagued affair and will face second-seeded Xavier (26-4) Thursday night in the quarterfinals.
St. John’s briefly held multiple early leads while opening 7-of-11 from the field, but the Red Storm erased the shooting success by committing five turnovers in the first five minutes. Trailing 11-9, Marquette went on a 9-0 run, scoring 16 of its first 26 points off turnovers.
The Red Storm cut a 12-point deficit to four late in the first half, but another string of turnovers and defensive lapses allowed Marquette to take a 50-38 lead at halftime after shooting 63 percent from the field.
Soon enough, the miserable season would come to an end, but not before a final flash of what could come.
“It was a tough season, but [it] was a pretty good way [finish], especially the second half,” Mullin said. “We know we have a lot of work to do. The young guys understand what it takes to win and how much it hurts to lose. Sometimes that’s what gets your attention the most.”