Tariq Owens and Darien Williams stepped up when St. John’s needed them.
The Red Storm needed two defensive stops over the final 59.7 seconds Wednesday night in Providence, R.I., to win their second Big East road game of the season and the role players came through.
First, Owens made a highlight-worthy two-handed block on Providence’s Alpha Diallo, who was on the verge of a momentum-changing dunk.
Forty seconds later, Williams stood his ground with both arms raised as the Friars’ Kyron Cartwright charged to the hoop. Williams’ length altered Cartwright’s shot, resulting in a steal under the basket, and the Johnnies held on for a 91-86 victory.
Redshirt freshman Marcus LoVett had a game-high 26 points and freshman Shamorie Ponds had 13 of his 22 points in the second half for the Johnnies (10-12, 4-5 Big East). Ponds had four big free throws in the final minute as St. John’s closed with a 6-0 run for the win.
“Every game for us is a learning experience,” Red Storm head coach Chris Mullin said. “It just reinforces all of the hard work they put in. I think what it really does is help them trust and believe in each other. That’s probably the most important thing.”
The win was just the fourth by St. John’s in the past 15 years at Providence, with the previous victory coming on Jan. 14, 2015.
This one didn’t come easily. After St. John’s took a nine-point lead into the break, Providence opened the second half on an 18-5 run and led by as many as six on multiple occasions.
“I played here 30 years ago,” Mullin said. “It’s a really hostile place to play.
“With a young team, you can’t have those runs or it can really balloon. It’s always the balance of trying to hold them for later; you’re going to lose the game right there so I’m more apt to stop the game.”
The strategy worked as St. John’s seemingly regained its offensive footing behind Ponds.
LoVett tallied his 17th double-digit scoring performance of the season while Bashir Ahmed and Malik Ellison each added 15 points. Rodney Bullock scored 20 to lead the Friars (13-9, 3-6).
St. John’s returns home to play host to No. 24 Xavier on Sunday night.
