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COVID-19 gifted St. John’s a win and it contributed to a costly loss on Saturday.
Without star junior Julian Champagnie, who tested positive for the virus and is in quarantine, the Johnnies blew a 10-point lead to Pittsburgh and fell, 59-57, on Jamarius Burton’s baseline drive with 0.4 seconds left at the Garden.
Champagnie’s absence, though, was only part of this ugly defeat. This was a poor offensive performance in which St. John’s couldn’t convert on numerous transition opportunities, shot a dreadful 35 percent from the field and sent the Panthers to the free-throw line 28 times. The Red Storm was only 7-of-14 from the free throw line, contributing to the Quad 4 loss that will be a major hindrance if they are on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Pittsburgh committed 18 turnovers and it only turned into nine St. John’s points.
Pittsburgh went ahead on a Burton 3-pointer with 11:55 left, its first lead since the early going. St. John’s immediately reclaimed the advantage and didn’t give it back until the final minutes. Addae-Wusu sent the game into overtime with two free throws with 8.1 seconds left, after St. John’s has fallen behind by two.
Addae-Wusu led the Johnnies with 12 points and Posh Alexander had 10. Burton scored 20 for Pittsburgh.
St. John’s led by as many as 10 in the first half on the strength of a 10-0 spurt spearheaded by the bench, but it couldn’t sustain it. It managed just three points over the ensuing 4:06, enabling Pittsburgh to get close. There were stretches when Champagnie’s absence was really felt, especially in that period. They missed 12 of their last 15 shots of the opening 20 minutes.
The Johnnies’ inability to take advantage of their defense — they scored just seven points on 11 Pittsburgh turnovers in the opening half and held the Panthers to 36 percent shooting — didn’t help matters. Neither did the Red Storm missing four of eight free throw attempts. Soriano was a factor, producing eight points, four rebounds and a block, and Alexander had six on three-of-seven shooting.
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