By Anthony Bosco
The St. John's Red Storm welcomed back sophomore point guard Erick Barkley with open arms Saturday, as the team took the floor against the Villanova Wildcats at Madison Square Garden.
But Barkley's return was almost enough for the Red Storm as it needed a key defensive stop by sophomore center Anthony Glover in the final seconds to secure a 78-75 victory.
With St. John's up 78-75 and 3.3 seconds remaining, Villanova tried to get off one final shot. Gary Buchanan, who was 2-for-6 from three-point range in the day, got the ball in the far right corner, turned and tried to shoot over Glover. Glover got all ball and rejected the shot, which went off Buchanan and out of bounds with no time remaining on the clock.
“It was one of those game we had to have,” said St. John's coach Mike Jarvis. “Sometimes the toughest games to win are the ones you have to have.”
The Red Storm play five tough opponents, Syracuse, Connecticut, Duke, Seton Hall and Miami to close out the season.
But against the Wildcats, St. John's came out hot in the first half, going on a 9-0 run following a Brian Lynch three that gave Villanova a 3-2 lead. Up by eight at 16:04 following a slam dunk by Lavor Postell off a Barkley feed, St. John's allowed Villanova to slowly creep back into the game.
The Red Storm's biggest lead of the first half, 18-7, came at 12:57, but seven straight points by the Wildcats pulled the visitors to within four, 18-14, on a Buchanan three-pointer.
The two teams battled back for the next few minutes until freshman Heath Orvis' three-pointer – his only points of the game – at 6:41 marked the start of a more than six minute dry spell for the Johnnies.
Down by seven, Villanova took advantage of St. John's poor play toward the end of the first half and pulled to within one, 31-30, on a basket by Malik Allen with 32.1 seconds remaining. Bootsy Thornton broke the cold streak for St. John's with a jumper with nine second remaining, but a Jermaine Medley three-pointer in the final seconds tied the score at 33 at the half.
In his first action in well over a week, Barkley shot poorly in the first half, hitting just 2-of-9 from the field.
“I was looking for my shot early, but it wasn't going in,” Barkley said. “I made a couple at the end and it came at a great point in the game.”
Neither team established control in the second half, but with St. John's holding a slight edge. The Red Storm survived eight tie games and took the lead for good on a three-pointer by Barkley with 3:56 left in the game. Barkley also hit a three two minutes earlier that broke a 61-61 tie.
Villanova, however, would not go quietly. Following Barkley's second three, the Wildcats got back to within one on a short jumper by Allen with 1:10 remaining. A driving, hanging layup by Glover with 41.7 showing on the clock pushed the lead back to three.
“I was going straight to the basket,” Glover said. “My intention was to dunk.”
Barkley and Postell both went 1-for-2 from the foul line in the final 20 seconds of the game, but that was just enough for the Johnnies to win.
The numbers for the game were typical St. John's. Barkley led the way with 16 points, seven assists and seven steals, followed by Postell and Glover with 13 points and five rebounds apiece. Thornton added 11 and five boards and Reggie Jessie scored seven with six assists and five rebounds.
Off the bench, Chudney Gray added nine points, while Donald Emanuel, who has continued to show improvement with increased playing time, had six points and five rebounds in 14 minutes. Orvis was 1-for-1 from the field for three points.
Villanova got a career night from Allen, who was 10-for-14 from the field for 25 points with 12 rebounds and a block. Medley added 16 and Buchanan and Lynch finished with 10. St. John's forced 21 Villanova turnovers, 12 from steals.
St. John's 73, Boston College 69. Postell scored 24 points and Thornton added 16 in the Red Storm victory Tuesday night, raising the team's record to 17-6 overall and 9-3 in the Big East. Barkley added 12, while Jessie scored 10. Archbishop Molloy alum Uka Agbai had a solid day for the Eagles, scoring 10 points and grabbing a team-high six rebounds.
