St. John’s trounces Virginia in emphatic bounce-back

NASSAU, Bahamas — The early theme of this St. John’s team has been its resilience. 

It was apparent in how it handled the exhibition game at Rutgers, the shaky first half against Wagner and the second half with New Mexico when the game at the Garden got tight. 

This was different. 

There was uncertainty over how the Johnnies would deal with a crushing double-overtime loss to No. 13 Baylor at the buzzer, a game they led by five with fewer than 10 seconds to go in the second extra session. November losses don’t get worse.

Coach Rick Pitino even compared it to the 1992 Elite Eight loss to Duke, also known as the Christian Laettner game. 

No. 22 St. John’s answered the bell like it had been through this before together, playing arguably its most complete game of the young season.

Unlike Thursday, it followed up a strong first half with an even better second half, crushing Virginia, 80-55, in the consolation game of the Baha Mar Hoops Championship. 

“To respond that way is extremely impressive, both offensively as well as defensively,” Pitino said. “I just thought they were thoroughbreds tonight in their attitude, in the way they approached it. They didn’t play tired mentally or physically, didn’t hang their heads. Just came out and took care of business against a team that can nail 3s and keep [itself] in the game.” 

Pitino was able to empty his bench with more than five minutes remaining in this rout. St. John’s put on a show, wowing the crowd with an end-to-end style that included six dunks.

It was highlighted by Deivon Smith’s alley-oop dunk, showcasing the 6-foot guard’s impressive vertical leap. 

Ten Red Storm players scored, led by RJ Luis’ 18 points and 12 from Kadary Richmond.

Smith narrowly missed a triple-double, notching 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Zuby Ejiofor rebounded after missing two late free throws against Baylor with eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks. 

The Johnnies hammered Virginia (3-2) in the paint by a 40-12 margin.

They made 10 3-pointers and shot 52.5 percent from the field. They (5-1) were plus-eight on the glass and committed just seven turnovers — two areas that hurt them in the Baylor loss.

They sure didn’t seem to have tired legs after that double-overtime marathon 24 hours prior. 

“It shows toughness. It’s important to bounce back and not think about the past,” Ejiofor said. “That’s exactly what we did. Everybody stepped up huge tonight, every single one of us. … We were all excited for each other. We all lifted each other up throughout the entire game. We didn’t let up for a single moment.” 

Pitino was still upset by the way the Baylor loss ended on Jeremy Roach’s 3-pointer at the buzzer following Ejiofor’s two missed free throws with 4.1 seconds left.

Replays showed the clock not starting on time, giving Roach extra time to take the shot.

Pitino said St. John’s told the officials it wanted them to take a look at the entire play on instant replay.

It was reviewable, and the shot could’ve been disallowed if the officials ruled Roach wouldn’t have gotten the shot off in time had the clock started when it should have. 

“It was a mistake by the officials,” Pitino said. “It hurts. It would’ve been an awesome win, certainly. But if we get Georgia [on Sunday], we’ll be fine. 

“The best remedy for us was to play tonight, even though it’s so difficult to play tonight after a loss like that. That’s also the best remedy, so it doesn’t just sink in and kill you inside.”