By Joseph Staszewski
February continues to be a magical month for St. John’s and it has NCAA Tournament games in March looking more and more certain.
The job certainly isn’t done yet for the St. John’s men’s basketball team, but a heart-pounding 58-57 win over Xavier at Madison Square Garden Monday night certainly bolsters its résumé.
A jumper by Myles Davis didn’t go down on Xavier’s final possession and Chris Obekpa grabbed the loose back to secure the victory.
The win moves the Red Storm to being in position to secure a berth in the Big Dance.
“It is looking good right now,” senior forward Sir’Dominic Pointer said.
St. John’s has won five of its last six games and is in fifth place in the Big East after its second victory over the Musketeers in nine days. The Red Storm (19-9, 8-7) is 5-2 this February, with a game against Georgetown on Feb. 28, and is 11-4 in the month combined the last two years.
“He gets us ready for February,” Pointer said of Coach Steve Lavin. “Other teams peak in December and January, while we are still getting better.”
Pointer continues his strong play by scoring 19 points, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking six shots. D’Angelo Harrison netted 20 points against Xavier, which led by five points midway through the second half. The two carried St. John’s for most of the contest before big hoops by the supporting cast down the stretch.
Phil Greene IV put St. John’s up for good with a 3-pointer with 4:40 to go in the game. A jumper by Rysheed Jordan (10 points) made it 58-57 with 23 seconds remaining. The Red Storm had to hold its breath after Remy Abell stole the ball from Harrison along the sideline with 15 ticks left.
“I just wanted to get a stop and we did it,” Harrison said of his feeling after the turnover. “We make things really dramatic for no reason.”
St. John’s started the game down 11-0, but the defensive presence of Obekpa and Pointer in the paint helped turn the tide. The Red Storm closed the half on a 28-9 spurt. They scored 14 points off 15 turnovers by Xavier (18-11, 8-8). It was enough to grab a 28-20 advantage at the break. Xavier coach Chris Mack felt his team became tentative around he rim. Trevon Bluiett paced the Musketeers with 17 points.
Pointer has been anything but hesitant this season and continues to give the opposing teams fits. He had 13 of St. John’s 28 first half points continually sparked the team on defense.
“You can’t really prepare for it,” Lavin said of Pointer. “How do you prepare for a tornado ripping up the basketball court?”
St. John’s, however, seems set to continue to finish the season strong with Senior Night against Georgetown up next on Saturday. Harrison believes a victory against the Hoyas will be a big boost to the Red Storm’s quest for an NCAA Tournament berth.
“If we win Saturday,” Harrison said, “we will have a little bit more breathing room.”
