A pair of teams with minimal rest will face off in Nassau, Bahamas, on Sunday when No. 22 St. John takes on Georgia.
St. John’s (5-1), which will play its third game in four days, began the stretch in the Bahamas Championship on Thursday, dropping a heartbreaker to No. 13 Baylor.
The Red Storm led by 18 in the first half before Baylor forced overtime. From there, St. John’s rallied from five down with 1:47 left to send the game to a second overtime, where it saw Baylor knock down a pair of 3-pointers in the final seven seconds — including Jeremy Roach’s buzzer-beater — to knock off the Red Storm 99-98.
In the third-place game on Friday, St. John’s breezed past Virginia 80-55. RJ Luis Jr. led the way with 18 points and four steals, followed by Kadary Richmond’s 12 points, as the Red Storm took a one-point lead with 15:21 left in the first half and didn’t trail again.
“I’m really impressed with our guys, coming off a double-overtime, extremely emotional loss,” St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino said. “To respond that way was extremely impressive, both offensively and defensively.”
Pitino, in his second year with the Red Storm, was moved by something off the court on Friday, involving captain Zuby Ejiofor, who chipped in eight points, nine boards, two steals and two blocks. Ejiofor was serenaded by St. John’s fans during the win, following his two missed free throws at the end of double overtime against Baylor.
“When you’ve only been in a job for a year, you search for things you love about a place,” Pitino said. “Tonight I found out what I love about St. John’s. Our fans chanted Zuby’s name the whole game, which doesn’t happen anywhere else in America. I was really impressed with our fans and I thank them for making Zuby feel good, because he gives you all the energy.”
Luis leads the Red Storm with 17.3 points per game, followed by Ejiofor (10.7), Aaron Scott (10.5), Deivon Smith (10.3) and Richmond (10.2).
Georgia enters Sunday’s matchup looking to rebound from its first loss after falling to No. 15 Marquette 80-69 on Saturday.
Georgia (5-1) battled back from a 15-point, second-half deficit, but was held to just three points over the final 4:57 in Saturday’s loss. Blue Cain led the Bulldogs with a season-high 17 points, including five 3-pointers.
“It’s a process. It’s a journey with this team,” Bulldogs head coach Mike White said. “It’s about continuing to make strides, continuing to protect our culture. … At the end of the day, wins and losses are going to take care of themselves. We just have to embrace the process and enjoy it.”
Five-star freshman recruit Asa Newell was held to a season-low nine points but leads the team with 15.5 points per game. Silas Demary Jr. is second with 13.8.
–Field Level Media
