St. John's basketball suffers crushing loss on Jeremy Roach buzzer beater in 2OT

Every possible scenario that ran through a St. John's basketball fans head about how the No. 22 Johnnies could have lost to No. 13 Baylor on Thursday night in the Bahamas would not have been as painful as what actually transpired on the court.

It was an avalanche in the first half that saw the Red Storm lead by 14 points, 44-30, on eight 3-pointers at halftime but the Bears flipped the script in the second half with relenting pressure on the offensive glass.

It resulted in Baylor taking its first lead of the game with 2:41 remaining but things were only beginning to unravel.

Kadary Richmond tied the game at 71 with 7.1 seconds left in regulation before VJ Edgecombe, a native of the Bahamas, had his buzzer beating 3-pointer rim out. It looked over again for the Johnnies in overtime but a 5-0 run over the final 1:36 sent the game to double overtime as Richmond hit a pair of free throws with 20.2 seconds left and Jeremy Roach fired an airball as the clock expired.

It then felt like destiny for the Johnnies. A game they should have won because of its first half performance was squandered away but Baylor couldn't take advantage twice in the final seconds as the Red Storm built a 5-point lead, 98-93, with 18.6 seconds to play in double overtime.

However, Edgecombe connected on a 3-pointer that brought Baylor back within two points before the Bears sent Zuby Ejiofor to the line with 4.1 seconds left to ice the game for the Red Storm.

Ejiofor missed both free throws and Roach got another shot at a game winner and did not miss as he was able to get a 3-pointer off in time to win it for the Bears, 99-98.

"That was about as difficult of a loss as you can have," a dejected Rick Pitino said after the game.

The final inbounds play was designed to go to Deivon Smith, who was just 1-for-2 from the free throw line instead of Ejiofor who was 6-for-10. Pitino explained that a poor screen set by his center was unable to get Smith free from the defender.

St. John's shot 14-of-26 from the free throw line, surrendered 10 offensive rebounds, and allowed 16 second chance points after halftime. It was not a winning recipe regardless of how the final seconds unfolded.

Norchad Omier, a transfer portal target for the Red Storm in the offseason, was unstoppable in the paint after finishing with 24 points while Roach ended with 20.

Kadary Richmond was only able to play six total minutes in overtime due to cramping, finishing with 14 points while Ejiofor added 22 points and Aaron Scott, who hit five 3-pointers in the second half, had 20 points.

The Red Storm will play the loser between No. 11 Tennessee and Virginia on Friday night (7:00 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network) before closing out its Bahamas trip against Georgia on Sunday morning.