No. 20 St. John's Overcomes 16-Point Deficit to Defeat Xavier in Overtime

The Red Storm secures its sixth straight win and moves into first place in the Big East with a 79-71 victory at Madison Square Garden.

St. John's rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit, forcing overtime with Kadary Richmond's late layup and dominating the extra period with an 8-0 run led by Zuby Ejiofor.
Richmond led the Red Storm with a season-high 19 points, adding seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals in a standout performance.
The Red Storm's defense, ranked fifth nationally, held Xavier to just 31 points in the second half and overtime, doubling their opponent's scoring in the paint 48-24.
RJ Luis Jr., Simeon Wilcher, and Ejiofor each contributed 16 points, with Luis scoring all of his after halftime to fuel the comeback.
With a 17-3 record and 8-1 in conference play, St. John's is off to its best start since 1985-86 and is eyeing its first Big East regular-season title since 1992 under coach Rick Pitino.