Joel Soriano and Daniss Jenkins each scored 16 points and St. John’s survived a tight finish to fend off visiting Providence 75-73 on Wednesday in New York.
Jenkins shot 4-of-5 from the arc and RJ Luis Jr. had 12 points and eight rebounds, including a critical offensive rebound after teammate Brady Dunlap missed two free throws with six seconds left.
St. John’s (12-4, 4-1 Big East) raced out to a 20-5 lead before Providence got back in the game, mainly thanks to Devin Carter’s heroics. Carter scored a career-high 31 points, matched his career high with 13 rebounds and added four steals for the Friars (11-5, 2-3), who nevertheless lost their third straight game.
With Providence running out of time, Garwey Dual made a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock. Carter then stole St. John’s inbounds pass and laid it in for a sudden five-point swing that cut the deficit to 68-64 with 2:59 to go.
The Red Storm scored four points, but Carter drilled a 3 to keep Providence alive. Soriano made just 2 of 4 foul shots on two trips to the line, and Carter drew a foul trying a 3 with 24 seconds left.
Carter made the first two foul shots and missed the third, but Rafael Castro rebounded for Providence. After a Friars timeout, Carter scored on a layup to cut it to 74-73.
Dunlap, who suffered a lower-body injury earlier in the half but returned to the game, missed two free throws, but Luis rebounded the second and was fouled. He missed the first but made his second foul shot for the winning margin.
Jayden Pierre had 17 points with three made 3-pointers for Providence. Davonte Gaines scored 11.
Dunlap knocked down his first three shots to launch a game-opening 10-0 run for St. John’s. He finished with nine points.
Eight Red Storm players scored in the first half, led by Jenkins’ 11 points. Jordan Dingle hit a jumper and a layup in the final minute for a 40-29 halftime lead.
The Red Storm’s 1-for-9 shooting performance to begin the second half let the Friars charge back. Carter took over on the other end of the floor, scoring seven points during a 10-0 Providence run.
Carter went behind his back to beat his defender and score on a fast-break layup that gave the Friars their only lead, 45-44, with 14:30 to go.
St. John’s responded with a 17-3 stretch that featured a three-point play from Soriano and Jenkins’ fourth 3-pointer of the game, forcing Providence to play catch-up once again.
–Field Level Media
