It was only 10 days ago that St. John’s left the Garden exuberant, believing it was on its way. It was tied atop the Big East standings, off to its best start in league play in 23 years.
It feels like so much longer than those 10 days.
Nothing has gone right since.
St. John’s has dropped three straight games after Saturday afternoon’s 73-72 setback to No. 17 Marquette, blowing a 10-point first-half lead.
The Red Storm’s defense was nowhere to be found after halftime, allowing the Golden Eagles to shoot a ridiculous 75 percent from the field in a second-half demolition.
Having Rick Pitino back on the sideline — he missed the loss to Seton Hall due to a bout with COVID-19 — didn’t fix the problems facing this team.
After absorbing a 28-0 run in an ugly loss at Seton Hall on Tuesday, St. John’s was on the short end of a 28-10 stretch here on Saturday.
Co-stars Joel Soriano and Daniss Jenkins floundered until the final minutes.
Jenkins committed six turnovers and Soriano again made little impact, producing 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Johnnies’ best player was RJ Luis Jr., who scored a game-high 20 points, and Chris Ledlum added 13 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
St. John’s defense, though, was the issue.
It just couldn’t stop Marquette after the break, allowing 45 second-half points.
It didn’t help that Nahiem Alleyne (sprained right ankle) was lost in the first half, and Jordan Dingle (COVID-19) remained out.
Reigning Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek was unstoppable, finishing with 15 points and 11 assists, and Oso Ighodaro had 17.
St. John’s did get within one late and had multiple chances to either tie or go ahead, but couldn’t get over the hump.
Ledlum missed a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds, while Jenkins missed a free throw with 38.9 seconds left and his jumper at the buzzer came up short.
In spite of turnovers issues (11) and a quiet half from Soriano (four points, three rebounds), St. John’s held a six-point lead at the break.
The bench was a key factor, particularly Zuby Ejiofor.
He had five points in a 14-2 run late in the second half, anchoring the paint defense and making a difference on the glass.
Marquette didn’t make a 3-pointer in 11 first-half attempts and Kolek was limited to four points.
The Golden Eagles did close the half well, scoring the final four points after trailing by 10.
After getting out-rebounded by 21 by Seton Hall, St. John’s was much better on the glass, plus-11 over the first 20 minutes.
Marquette’s momentum carried over through the intermission.
David Joplin hit a 3-pointer and the Golden Eagles made nine of their first 11 shots of the second half to pull even at 49 with 13:36 left, forcing a Pitino timeout.
It didn’t slow down Marquette.
It continued to pile it on, pushing the lead to four after a Kolek-to-Ighodaro alley-oop.
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