Zuby Ejiofor pushed home a game-winner at the overtime buzzer to lift No. 6 St. John’s to a stunning 86-84 overtime win at No. 20 Marquette on Saturday. The outcome made for a gut-punching end to Senior Day for the Golden Eagles, who rallied from a 4-point deficit in overtime to briefly take the lead.
It appeared as though Marquette (22-9, 13-7 Big East) had produced a stop on the final possession of overtime when Chase Ross rebounded an RJ Luis miss with three seconds remaining. With the score tied at 84, it also looked like Ross might have enough time to turn up court and attempt a potential game-winning shot for Marquette.
But just as Ross began to collect the ball, St. John’s star Kadary Richmond poked it away and into the arms of teammate Simeon Wilcher. With the final seconds of OT ticking away, Wilcher dished the ball to Ejiofor, who lifted a quick shot just before the buzzer.
His make sent the St. John’s bench flooding onto the floor in celebration of a victorious conclusion to a historic regular season. The Red Storm (27-4, 18-2) had already clinched the outright Big East crown and top seed in next week’s conference tournament.
The victory will only enhance the program’s chances of potentially securing a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm entered the day as a projected No. 3 seed in Jerry Palm’s Bracketology and are now 5-4 in Quad 1 games and a perfect 22-0 across all other contests.
A Change in the Garden: Rick Pitino and St. John’s now rule the Big East as UConn slides off the mountaintop
Matt Norlander
A Change in the Garden: Rick Pitino and St. John’s now rule the Big East as UConn slides off the mountaintop
Marquette entered as a projected No. 5 seed and will enter the Big East Tournament having lost three of its past five and six of its past 10 since an 18-3 start.