Kadary Richmond saves St. John's basketball from epic collapse against Providence

Kadary Richmond was brought to the St. John’s basketball team for the big moment, and he delivered on Saturday afternoon inside Madison Square Garden to save the Red Storm.

After the No. 15 Johnnies squandered a 19-point lead, 53-34, to Providence with 8:35 remaining, Richmond had the ball in his hands to win the game and didn’t disappoint with a midrange jumper with 3.0 seconds left to give St. John’s a 68-66 victory.

It was all too similar from when these two teams met six weeks ago in Rhode Island.

Bensely Joseph, who missed a half-court shot in the final seconds, drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game like he did in Friartown. It was his first triple of the game, but it was all for naught.

St. John’s (19-3, 10-1 Big East) nearly ran the exact same play it did to beat the Friars earlier in the season, just the players were different. It was Kadary Richmond using a screen from Zuby Ejiofor at the 3-point line instead of Deivon Smith and if Richmond had missed the shot, Ejiofor was in position for an offensive rebound putback.

“The only difference is he made the shot,” Providence coach Kim English said about the comparison between the two plays. “As much as you hate it as a coach, it sometimes is truly a make or miss game.”

It was the perfect way to finish Richmond’s best game in a St. John’s uniform which saw him put up 24 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and three steals on 10-of-14 shooting – including making both of his 3-point attempts.

“We executed the play, and I made a big time shot,” Richmond said.

Jabri Abdur-Rahim single handily kept the Friars (11-11, 5-6 Big East) in the game with a career-high 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting from 3-point range, but his last shot attempt came with 2:21 remaining after bringing Providence within one, 62-61. The rest of the team was 4-for-17 but made 10-of-13 shots to close the game.

Things were very choppy to start after nearly a ten-minute delay within the first two minutes due to a clock issue. St. John’s began the game shooting 3-of-21 as Providence built a seven-point lead, 17-10, before the Johnnies would settle in and close the half on a 15-4 run to take a lead into the locker room.

In his return from a shoulder sprain, Deivon Smith was just 1-for-10 from the floor with three points but did manage three rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

The victory continues a dream start to the season for the Red Storm, who will have at least a share of first place in the Big East entering its massive showdown against Marquette (18-3, 9-1 Big East) on Tuesday night (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1) inside The Garden.