Ten Takeaways from Providence's Heartbreaker Against St. John's at Madison Square Garden
1. Entering yesterday’s Providence/St. John’s game at Madison Square Garden, the Friars and Red Storm were separated by just three points in three games coached by Kim English and Rick Pitino over the past two seasons.
Providence won, 75-72, at the Amica Mutual Pavilion last season after falling, 75-73 in the Garden, while the Johnnies took home a buzzer-beating victory (72-70) in the team’s first matchup this season.
Saturday was no different, with the Friars ripping off a 32-13 run over the final nine minutes of the game to tie it before Kadary Richmond buried an elbow jumper with three seconds left on the clock. When Bensley Joseph’s halfcourt heave missed, it marked the latest heartbreaker for Providence this season, which fell, 68-66.
They’ve lost in the final seconds twice to the first place Johnnies (10-1 in league play), and fell in one-possession games at Villanova, at Connecticut, and against Oklahoma in Atlantis.
2. Richmond isn’t known as a shooter, but letting him get so open for an elbow jumper was a mistake. Richmond is shooting 56% on the season from the right elbow and 60% from the left.
The Seton Hall transfer killed PC with 24 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals and an efficient 10-14 shooting from the field and 2-2 from deep.
Richmond had made one 3-pointer in his previous 16 games.