Providence Suffers Heartbreak in Buzzer-Beating Loss to St. John's

Photos courtesy of Carl Rizzo

For 20 minutes, things couldn’t have gone much better for Providence in their critical home game against Rick Pitino and his resurgent St. John’s club.

Playing without star forward Bryce Hopkins, and giving a start to 7’2 center Anton Bonke, the Friars led by as many as 16 points in the first half and went to the locker room up 13 (42-29) behind an offense that shot 63% from the field and 55% beyond the 3-point arc.

Powered by guards Bensley Joseph (12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists) and Jayden Pierre (10 points on 3-3 shooting, 2-2 beyond the arc), this was Providence playing near its peak without Hopkins: a 22-12 edge in paint points, a 20-18 advantage on the glass, largely avoiding turnovers until the final three minutes, and owning a 9-2 lead in bench points. St. John’s, meanwhile, shot 35% from the field, 2-7 at the free throw line, and 1-9 beyond the arc.

For all the questions and angst that surrounded Providence since last weekend’s loss to St. Bonaventure (which dropped them to 7-5 on the season), the old building was alive on Friday night.

Unlike against the Bonnies, Friartown came to life early because their team threw the first punch. English went without center Christ Essandoko and wing Jabri Abdur-Rahim in the first half, while eight Friars scored in the opening 20 minutes.

Everyone who played contributed — from the hot-scoring starts of Joseph and Pierre to the rebounding of Corey Floyd Jr. and Ryan Mela, the 3-4 shooting start of Wesley Cardet, an athletic tip-in out of Justyn Fernandez, the momentum-building three of Rich Barron, and the effort of Bonke and Oswin Erhunmwunse battling Zuby Ejiofor on the interior.

The Friars were playing tough, and the Providence crowded roared with approval.

Pitino had a straightforward message for his team at the locker room: “We came in at halftime and said, ‘Look, if we lock down the 3-point line we’re going to win this game.’”

The Johnnies slowed the straight-line drives that killed them in the first half, and the Friar offense from deep disappeared in the second. The PC attack that hummed early went 8-25 from the floor in the second and 1-8 beyond the arc, as St. John’s whittled away at the lead by popping PC on the offensive glass and taking advantage of Friar turnovers. St. John’s held a 14-2 advantage in second-chance points in the second half and outscored Providence 9-2 off turnovers during that time.

Fittingly, it was Ejiofor who put the final nail in the coffin. After Joseph tied the game on a 3-pointer with under 20 seconds left, Devion Smith came up short on a jump shot, but Ejiofor grabbed the offensive board (his sixth of the game) and flipped home a shot as the horn sounded to cap a stirring 72-70 St. John’s win.

“Zuby’s a monster. Always been,” Pitino said of his center, noting that only PC great Billy Donovan had a better work ethic out of all the players he has coached.

Despite shooting 5-12 at the free throw line, Ejiofor finished with 19 points and 10 boards. Down Hopkins and relying on a green frontcourt, Providence had no answer for him on the glass.

This game wasn’t lost at the buzzer. It was on the backboard.

“We need more from our five position,” PC head coach Kim English said following the loss. “We need more from our five position right now. Bonke and Oswin are young guys, but they’re coachable. They do exactly what we ask, they’re committed to us completely, humbly. It sucks right now, but we really like them long-term for our program.”

Present day, however, this one really stings. How different would this all feel if the Friars were heading into Christmas, prepping for a tough stretch against Marquette and UConn, with a 2-0 mark in Big East play? What message would it send had they done enough to hold on and take out St. John’s without Hopkins?

The effort was there, especially early, but the execution was not.

English’s frustration afterwards was palpable.