The late game heroics of Dylan Addae-Wusu helped St. John’s basketball to a comeback win.
Just seven days ago the St. John’s basketball team lost in agonizing fashion on the road against Butler in which a game-tying shot from Joel Soriano was 0.1 seconds late.
Tuesday night against DePaul would be the exact opposite.
Trailing by as many as 13 points in the second half, Dylan Addae-Wusu provided the fireworks in Chicago on a 3-pointer to tie the score at 79 with 2.6 seconds remaining in regulation.
Addae-Wusu faded towards the sideline after a timeout and drilled the shot with two Blue Demon players chasing down on him.
“I don’t think he’s ever seen a shot he didn’t like,” St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson said following the game.
ICE. IN. HIS. VEINS. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/lvBCmvvtSB
— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) February 15, 2023
The Red Storm still had a chance to win the game in regulation after an inexplicable turnover from DePaul with 0.5 seconds left, but a corner 3-pointer from DePaul transfer David Jones missed.
“Our guys they just wouldn’t quit even though they had every reason to,” Anderson continued.
The first overtime saw just eight total points, one made field goal, from both teams but an Addae-Wusu free throw tied the game with 1:01 left, however, neither program was able to break the tie.
DePaul (9-16, 3-11 Big East) continued its offensive struggles in the second overtime with a scoreless five minutes as St. John’s seized control of the game behind a 9-0 run, headlined by another deep triple from Addae-Wusu.
“I thought fatigue was a big factor in the game…We just had a bit more in our tank than DePaul did,” Anderson said.
The Blue Demons lost Yor Anei to an injury in the first half while Nick Ongenda (wrist), making his first appearance of the season, fouled out in the first minute of the first overtime.
Dylan Addae-Wusu finished with a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds while Joel Soriano notched another of his nation leading double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds in the 92-83 victory.
St. John’s basketball still hoping for last season pulse
St. John’s (15-11, 5-10 Big East) led for just 7:07 of the game, 5:40 coming overtime, but still showed issues valuing the basketball with 17 turnovers.
David Jones struggled in his return to Chicago forcing shots and trying to do too much for the Red Storm with 13 points on just 6-of-23 shooting but did record 13 rebounds in the victory.
St. John’s guard Andre Curbelo did not play for the second straight game (coach’s decision) and did not make the trip to Illinois with the team.
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Both teams were a combined 3-of-25 from the field in the two extra sessions but a two-game winning streak for the Johnnies in mid-February is trying to keep the pulse of the season alive with a challenging schedule ahead.
Thing continue for the Red Storm when the team returns home to face No. 18 Creighton (17-9, 11-4 Big East) on Saturday night (7:30p.m. ET, FS1) inside Carnesecca Arena.