St. John's vs DePaul final: St. John's falls 71-67 on the road to DePaul

In a game that won't be going into the Fox Sports 1 Archives, DePaul ruined a solid last homecoming game for Phil Greene IV and came away with a win over the Red Storm, 71-67, in overtime in Chicago.

St. John's hope for a winning streak before coming back home were dashed - but not before both teams battled through overtime for a league victory.

Facing an athletic team that works to create turnovers and fast break opportunities, St. John's was undone by DePaul's... shooting.

DePaul rode the three-pointer against St. John's, expecting the trapping Red Storm defense to yield them open outside shots.

The first half saw the Red Storm hold the Blue Demons to .54 points per possession - 30% inside the arc and 18% from outside the arc on their 17 three-pointers. The Blue Demons took almost two-thirds of their shots from outside the arc in that half, and turned the ball over 12 times (35% of their possessions).

DePaul came out with more pep in the second half, hacking away at an 11 point Red Storm lead. And the refs came out with their whistles, sending both teams into the bonus with more than 13 minutes left to go. But DePaul's shooting and their energy brought them back into a sloppy game.

Their traps and deflections earned then a one-point lead with 13 minutes to go; from there, the Demons and Red Storm traded the lead repeatedly.

A missed Aaron Simpson free throw gave the Johnnies an opportunity to tie. And Rysheed Jordan - who had struggled for much of the game - came up big at the line, making a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to tie the game and sentthe Red Storm in to overtime against the Blue Demons.

In overtime, with Sir`Dominic Pointer fouled out, Jordan also tied the game with 40 seconds left in overtime at the line, slashing into the lane with hesitation moves to draw a foul.

But Myke Henry (19 points) went to the line with 14 seconds left to save the Blue Demons' day with a pair of made free throws in overtime.

There were nine lead changes in an occasionally chippy game.

DePaul shot 10/30 from outside the arc and 7/13 in the second half and overtime.

Phil Greene and Rysheed Jordan led the Red Storm with 17 points. D`Angelo Harrison struggled with 2/10 shooting and 11 points; he suffered a knee injury in practice yesterday, but was okayed to play by the staff.

St. John's falls to 12-5, 1-4 in the Big East after the loss. Only Creighton's 0-6 record keeps the Johnnies from the basement.

It is early, but St. John's NCAA Tournament hopes are in trouble as well after their second-straight loss to the Blue Demons in the AllState Arena.

St. John's faces off against Marquette on Wednesday night at home at Madison Square Garden. DePaul improves to 10-9 on the season and 4-2 in the Big East. Oliver Purnell's side is on the road against Seton Hall on Thursday.