Dylan Darling hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 53.2 seconds remaing and finished with 11 points off the bench to lead Rick Pitino and his St. John’s team to an 88-83 win over son Richard and Xavier on Saturday in Cincinnati.
St. John’s had to rally from 16 points down in the second half to give Rick Pitino his 900th career win as a college coach, the fourth coach in Division I history to reach the plateau. It was the second time in as many games that St. John’s wiped out a double-digit second half lead to post the win.
Pitino improved to 4-1 lifetime against his son in head-to-head matchups. Bryce Hopkins added 18 points and Dillon Mitchell chipped in with 17 for St. John’s (15-5, 8-1), which won its sixth straight. Father and son will match up again in New York on Feb. 9.
Tre Carroll scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the second while Malik Messina-Moore added 18 for Xavier (11-9, 3-6). Jovan Milicevic chipped in with 14 before fouling out with three minutes to go.
In a tribute to his father and in a break from his typical casual attire, Richard came out in a suit and tie. The two, donning nearly identical suits, exchanged an embrace in front of the Xavier bench minutes before introductions.
St. John’s opened on fire, hitting eight of its first 10 shots from the field to take a 20-11 lead. Leading the way was Ian Jackson, who made his first five shots and scored 13 of the first 20 points for the Red Storm.
With St. John’s up nine, the game turned dramatically when Joson Sanon fouled Messina-Moore on a made 3-pointer with 13 minutes left in the first half. Messina-Moore converted the free throw to complete the four-point play to start a 7-0 Musketeer run.
Xavier used the momentum to go on a 36-13 run and take a 47-33 lead on back-to-back threes from Messina-Moore with under three minutes left in the half.
Xavier came out of halftime with a pair of layups from Milicevic in the opening 50 seconds that gave them their biggest lead at 53-37, triggering a quick timeout from Rick Pitino. The Milicevic basket with 19:10 to go would be the final Xavier basket for nearly seven minutes as St. John’s mounted a comeback.
St. John’s drew to within one, 56-55, on a Dillon Mitchell dunk with 11:03 left. Xavier built the lead back to eight, 63-55, with the next seven points. But St. John’s answered with a 17-6 run for a 72-69 lead.
Adding to the festive atmosphere in the building was the retirement of the No. 52 of former Xavier star Tu Holloway in a halftime ceremony.
–Field Level Media
