After a nightmarish first half, the St. John's Red Storm made a miraculous second half comeback, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat for a 53-47 win.
Leading the way for the Johnnies was D'Angelo Harrison, who would finish with a team-high 21 points, 11 of which came in the second half.
Trailing 33-18 at the half, the Red Storm would limit the Gaels to just 14 points in the second half, significantly ratcheting up the pressure.
Sir'Dominic Pointer's free throws at 8:04 left in the contest put the Johnnies ahead 43-41 for the first time since the game's opening minutes. It was a massive 27-8 run to start the half that gave the Johnnies back control of the contest, and a lead they would never relinquish. Pointer would finish the night with the Johnnies' most complete stat line, going for 11 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
It would be Phil Greene IV who would ice the contest, knocking down both ends of a one-and-one to put the Red Storm ahead by five with 13.3 seconds to play.
Despite his team's second half collapse, senior forward Brad Waldow had an incredible evening for the Gaels. Going for 26 points and 12 rebounds, the big man was nearly unstoppable for most of the contest.
Battling foul trouble all night long, Chris Obekpa would foul out with 2:42 remaining yet, still adding eight points, eight rebounds, and three blocks to the cause. His biggest contributions were attempting to slow down Waldow, who had "only" nine second half points.
Finishing the game with more turnovers (eight) than assists (seven), the Johnnies clung on to victory. They'd make only four three-pointers, shoot just 35.8 per cent from the field, and see virtually nothing out of the combination of Phil Greene IV and Rysheed Jordan, yet they still found a way to pick up the victory.
Next up for the Red Storm (9-1, 0-0) will be the Long Beach State 49ers (5-6, 0-0), whom they'll welcome in at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 22, 2014, to Carnesecca Arena.