As Kadary Richmond’s mid-range jumper sunk through the hoop with three seconds to play in regulation, the Seton Hall transfer had not only delivered No. 15 St. John’s a 68-66 victory over Providence at Madison Square Garden; he also supplied his most dominant performance of the 2024-25 season.
“It felt very good,” Richmond said of the game-winner. “The coaches [and] my teammates believed in me to give me the ball at the end of the game. We executed the play and I made a big-time shot.”
Richmond led the Red Storm, now winners of eight straight games, with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists en route to the dramatic triumph.
However, St. John’s should never have needed to rely on Richmond’s heroics.
After a dormant first half from both squads which resulted in just 46 total points at the break, the hosts began the second half with purpose.
The Red Storm’s lackluster offensive showing through 20 minutes of action was nowhere to be seen as Richmond and RJ Luis Jr. (19 pts., 8 reb.) spearheaded Rick Pitino’s scoring attack.
Donning the early 2000s-inspired throwback jerseys, St. John’s led by as much as 19 early in the frame.
With Richmond, Luis and Zuby Ejiofor (13 pts., 5 reb.) operating at seemingly peak efficiency, it appeared the team was set to add the Friars to its list of blowout victims.
Unfortunately, Pitino’s team must’ve orchestrated some sort of trade-off. While displaying much improvement on offense, the suffocating defense that allowed just 21 first-half points had disappeared.
Thus, a three-point barrage from Jabri Abdur-Rahim was in order.
Providence’s senior guard notched 27 points, 24 by way of the triple.
Five of his eight deep-range heaves came in the second half, quickly evaporating any hope for a lopsided win courtesy of the nationally-ranked Red Storm.
“We are very fortunate and very pleased that we won,” Pitino said, referencing the defensive breakdown. “But [I’m] very disappointed in the way we played down the stretch. Not offensively, defensively.”
Miraculously, the Friars trimmed a once-19-point deficit to one with just over two minutes to play.
Following a chaotic sequence that saw Luis earn four trips to the free-throw line in seven seconds, St. John’s lead inched back to three.
With the game on the line, Bensley Joseph — a once target of Pitino’s this past offseason — sank his first and only three-pointer of the game to knot the score at 66 with 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Red Storm’s Hall of Fame head coach, with no timeouts to spare, turned to Richmond one final time.
As the clock wound down, Richmond crossed over to the right wing and buried the eventual game-winner, handing St. John’s its second buzzer-beating highlight against Providence this season.
“There’s always room for improvement. We’re not overlooking anybody,” Richmond said postgame. “Whoever we got next is who we got next, and we’re going to prepare the same way.”
The Saturday matinee matchup served as the Red Storm’s final contest before entering a brutal stretch of competition.
No. 9 Marquette is set to visit The Garden on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. EST, starting a four-game stretch against the Golden Eagles, No. 25 UConn, Villanova and Creighton as February basketball gets underway.
To access the final box score from the St. John’s win over Providence, click here.
