Led by a dominant second-half performance by Josh Oduro, the Providence Friars beat St. John 75-72 at home on Tuesday.
Oduro had 26 of his game-high 28 points after halftime, but perhaps his biggest play came at the end, when he blocked Jordan Dingle’s potential game-tying 3-point attempt in the closing seconds of the game.
St. John’s trailed for most of the game, but capitalized when the Friars didn’t hit a shot from the floor for more than six minutes late in the second half.
Daniss Jenkins hit a jumper to tie the score at 70-70 with 1:37 to go.
Corey Floyd Jr. and Oduro responded for Providence (16-9, 7-7 Big East) with back-to-back baskets to break the slump and regain the lead.
Devin Carter had a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double in the win. Davonte Gaines, who sustained a head injury 23 seconds into the game during a scramble for a loose ball, returned late in the first half and finished the game with 11 points. Rich Barron added 10 points.
R.J. Luis Jr. paced St. John’s with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Jenkins had 13 points, while Sean Conway chipped in 11 points off the bench. Red Storm captain Joel Soriano, who was replaced in the starting lineup by Zuby Ejiofor after struggling recently, finished with nine points and seven rebounds before fouling out.
St. John’s (14-11, 6-8) clawed back after a slow start when the Red Storm trailed by as many as 13 points in the first nine minutes of the game.
Gaines returned to the game in time to sink a 3-pointer to give Providence its biggest lead of the game, 28-15, with 9:42 left in the first half.
St. John’s regrouped and closed the half on a 23-5 run to take a 38-33 lead at the break.
It was a closely contested game the rest of the way. A three-point play by Oduro gave the Friars a 52-50 lead with 14:22 remaining in the second half.
Although St. John’s managed to tie the score on two occasions after that, the Friars never relinquished the lead.
–Field Level Media