Today is different. Not this time. Never again.
St. John’s finished Sunday. They shut out a high-quality opponent.
It gave fans something to root for and a reason to believe that maybe there was still life left in this season.
There was no collapse in the second half.
Instead, the team took a big lead and finished off an elite opponent, defeating No. 15 Creighton 80-66 at the Rocking Garden for the first memorable victory of the Rick Pitino era.
It was a mixed game down the stretch, but Jordan Dingle and Danis Jenkins took over and scored all 15 points in a game-clinching 15-4 run, extending a five-point deficit to a 16-point lead.
Dingle started the game with two short jumpers and Jenkins closed it out with nine straight points.
By the end of the run, MSG was just as loud as it had been in St. John’s all year.
The Johnnies have won two straight (16-12, 8-9) after dropping eight of 10 games and have a chance to win with Butler, DePaul and Georgetown remaining on the schedule.
That’s what they need to get back into the general conversation.
This was the Red Storm’s best performance all season, especially defensively.
They held Creighton, which was losing to No. 1 Connecticut, to just 23 percent from 3-point range, and shut down star wing Baylor Scheierman (12 points on 4-of-16 shooting).
Jenkins had a great performance with a season-high 27 points, six assists, two steals, and two blocks, while Dingle added 18 points.
Glen Taylor Jr., whose role was reduced, had his best game of the year with 10 rebounds, six assists, and perfect defense.
Trey Alexander led Creighton with 31 points.
The first half followed a familiar pattern.
St. John’s got off to a strong start and built a sizable lead.
They caught up to 10 points just seven minutes into the game, ended the first half with a 17-3 lead, and went into intermission with a 13-point lead.
Sunday at Creighton 3 p.m. Jason Suzens of the New York Post
They played incredibly well on defense, holding the sharp-shooting Creighton to 4-of-17 3-pointers.
The high-scoring duo of Stephen Ashworth and Scheierman made 4 of 16 field goals.
Meanwhile, the Johnnies shot 56 percent from the field, led by Jenkins’ 12 points and four assists.
Unlike in recent games, St. John’s didn’t collapse after the break, but Creighton gradually narrowed the lead.
Alexander’s previous 11 points in the second half were only five points apart at the time of the under-8 timeout.
But Dingle and Jenkins took over from there.
St. John’s finally found a way to shut out the big game.
