Saturday was a big day for Marquette Basketball. Not only was it a senior night, but this set of seniors marked the end of the Coach Smart “Godfathers,” some who followed Shaka from Texas. Shaka Smart undoubtedly brought a new type of energy athletes want to play for. With David Joplin, Kam Jones, and Steve Mitchell, the ‘Shaka Era’ has started with a bang, winning 97 games together. They looked to end their season and protect their national ranking, which they have held for multiple years under Coach Smart. These seniors also wanted to have a great time in front of their fans at home for the last time. On the other side of the court, they faced a powerhouse program behind Rick Pitino. Coach Pitino has taken the Red Storm farther than some of their fans predicted this year, taking the top of the Big East. Although St John’s starter Deivon Smith was listed injured, and Aaron Scott was questionable, they were still a force to be reckoned with.
St John’s won the tip and set the tone by how fast they moved off-ball. Marquette was not about to get caught off guard and locked it down defensively, allowing David Joplin to hit a three for the first points in the game. However, their lead would not last long due to second chance buckets by St. John’s. They proved to be a huge factor early on, allowing them to obtain an 11-6 lead, winning the rebounding comparison 7-1 halfway through the first half. Turnovers also contributed to Marquette’s early trailing, starting down three turnovers within a few minutes of game time. Kam Jones hit a huge three with the assist by Parham to tie it up, which was the spark they needed. Chase Ross capitalized on this opportunity by stealing the ball and going coast to coast for a windmill dunk, which let St John’s take a timeout as the crowd erupted. The game picked up right where it left off before the timeout as some chippy fouls get traded by both teams, but the Golden Eagles did not let go of the momentum. After the break, they took the lead in the turnover battle and kept the pedal to the floor, clearly outpacing the Red Storm in the last 5 minutes. St John’s next time out was much more beneficial, allowing them to halt much of the momentum that had them on their heels and get a quick few baskets to tie the game back up. Of course, Marquette missing three 3-pointers in a row wasn’t helping their case. Marquette still finished the half with a slight advantage on 3PT, but with a whopping 15 attempts, they were aiming for higher than 26.7%. The half ended with a one-point lead by St. John’s (35-36).
The second half was a back-and-forth story. It started with back-to-back points from both teams, and the game was tied again after a minute. The game went back and forth in almost every aspect in the second half. As of 12:30, remaining in the half, many stats were neck and neck. Such as rebounds and assists. St John’s had one more steal and eight more points in the paint with two fewer turnovers and 15 more second-chance points. If Marquette could have converted some of their second-chance points, this game would have had a different score. St John’s rotation was much more the speed we usually see Shaka have, but the legs on the Red Storm didn’t seem much fresher as the Golden Eagles were still sprinting up and down the floor in transition many times. St John’s had a saving grace with their free throw percentage comparison, shooting nearly 20% higher than Marquette throughout the game. Aaron Scott picked up his fourth foul with seven minutes of game time left as both teams refused to give in. Ben Gold hit both free throws Marquette desperately needed. The Red Storm had Marquette on their heels, penetrating well and making impressive passes under the basket, which extended their lead to the largest of six points so far, with just over six minutes of game time left. David Joplin didn’t let that get to him, as he got two consecutive baskets, bringing the Red Storm lead to just 2. Kam Jones kept the charge going, god only knowing where he got the energy from, having played a whopping 44:19 on the night. Finishing with 32, he hit the go-ahead bucket. This lead was taken back quickly with two unanswered points from St John’s. With 1:28 left, the back and forth by both teams rang true as they were both 27-63 from the field. The clock expired as St. John’s tied the game yet again.
Overtime brought out all the stops. Fouls increased by both teams, with many players being in foul trouble. Kam Jones was visibly shaken up after he was about to grab a tipped pass and was fouled hard by Zuby Ejiofor for his fourth foul. He missed both at the line, and MU was stuck at 77 points for an uncomfortable stretch. St. John’s RJ Luis Jr took advantage of this opportunity with a scoring run of his own. Yet between Joplin’s off ball tenacity, and Kam Jones ability to slash, they were able to tie it for the 16th time that night. The arena of blue and gold almost had their hands up in victory as RJ missed his shot with 4 seconds left, and it looked like Chase Ross had the rebound. The ending was nothing short of tragic because Kadary Richmond poked it out before Marquette could call timeout. Simeon Witcher recovered the loose ball and found Ejiofor in the paint, who hit a buzzer-beaterto win.
Knuckleball Prime Time Player of the Game
After the game, Red Storm players attributed Rick Pitino’s “favorite win” of the year to always being gritty, even if it’s not always pretty. They are all focused on doing whatever it takes to win, whether feeding the hot hand or trusting the team to find you when you’re open. The first thing Pitino said when he came out was, “WOW.” He was proud of his team’s toughness and willingness to shoot the ball. He continued about how well they battled out in a sold-out road game. They’ve had the mentality “win, or you’re done” to prepare for March Madness, and they proved it last night, even with Kam Jones destroying them. Shaka said it was a tough loss but was proud of the guys. Free throws, he said, can be pointed at as a need to do better, but he highlighted St. John’s TOUGHNESS as well. He said despite the bulldozing his guys were receiving in the paint, they needed to figure out how to wrestle and come up with more second-chance points.
Next Up: Both teams prepare for Thursday March 13th, where they will have their start to the Big East Tournament. St. John’s will face the winner between Providence and Butler at noon. Marquette will face No. 4 Xavier at 2:30
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