NEW YORK — Kadary Richmond delivered an impressive performance, scoring a season-high 24 points, including the crucial jumper that gave No. 15 St. John’s the lead with just three seconds remaining, as the team narrowly defeated Providence 68-66 on Saturday. This win came after St. John’s had nearly squandered a 19-point advantage in the last nine minutes of the game.
RJ Luis Jr. contributed significantly with 19 points and eight rebounds, helping the Red Storm (19-3, 10-1 Big East) to achieve their best start in 39 years. The team has now secured eight consecutive victories and won 14 out of their last 15 matchups.
With this victory, St. John’s gained a half-game lead in the conference standings over No. 9 Marquette, which was set to host No. 25 UConn later that night.
For Providence (11-11, 5-6), Jabri Abdur-Rahim stood out, scoring a season-high 27 points off the bench and playing a pivotal role in the team’s comeback at Madison Square Garden. He hit two of his eight three-pointers during the rally, while Bensley Joseph made a tying three-pointer with 33 seconds left, marking his only basket of the game despite a strong showing with 12 rebounds and seven assists.
After a timeout, Richmond used a screen from Zuby Ejiofor, creating enough space to sink a pull-up jumper from the foul line. Joseph attempted a long-range shot from just inside halfcourt as time expired, but it missed the mark.
Richmond had an excellent shooting game, going 10 of 14 from the field, and also recorded eight rebounds and eight assists. Ejiofor added 13 points to the scoreline for St. John’s, which managed a shooting percentage of 38% for the game.
In terms of takeaways, Providence struggled by matching their average of 12 turnovers per game in just the first half, ultimately finishing with a total of 20 turnovers. Despite contributing previously, St. John’s point guard Deivon Smith appeared out of sync, having missed three of the last four games due to a right shoulder injury, finishing with three points and six assists on 1-for-10 shooting in 28 minutes off the bench.
A significant moment occurred when Corey Floyd Jr. and Abdur-Rahim hit back-to-back threes that brought Providence within one point at 62-61 with 2:21 left on the clock.
An important statistic revealed that Providence’s leading scorers, Joseph and Pierre, managed only 14 points combined, shooting 5-of-23 from the field.
Looking ahead, Providence is scheduled to host Creighton on Wednesday, while St. John’s will face Marquette at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night before traveling to UConn on Friday.
