The No. 15/17 Marquette men’s basketball team (23-7, 14-4 Big East) trailed for the first time since the first half Saturday at St. John’s (16-14, 8-10 BE) when Jakarr Sampson hit a jumpshot on the first play of overtime. The Golden Eagles had led by as many as 14 in the second half, but the Red Storm’s press sparked a late 11-2 run.
Vander Blue didn’t want to let the Big East regular season title slip away.
He scored the final four points of the game and sunk a floating layup as time expired, leading Marquette to a 69-67 overtime win at Madison Square Garden.
“I wanted to make sure I shot the last shot,” Blue said. “I just put it up as high as I can…we practice shots like that all the time.”
Blue finished with 16 points and five rebounds and Jamil Wilson chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, as Marquette won a share of its first Big East regular season title in school history.
Phil Greene IV scored 20 points on nine-for-15 shooting, and Sampson added 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals for the Red Storm in the losing effort.
Marquette coach Buzz Williams praised Blue for his late-game heroics.
“To play at the Garden, to play for the league, for it to be in OT, made by a kid who wasn’t supposed to come to Marquette, couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Williams said.
In the huddle with 7.4 seconds left, Williams wanted his star guard to have the ball.
“I wanted to make sure Van got the last shot. And I wanted to make sure it was the last shot.”
It certainly was, as the official review showed double-zeros on the clock as the ball dropped through the basket. Blue ran to the other end of the court in celebration, and his teammates piled on top of him in front of the St. John’s bench.
Blue said the win culminated a regular season where the Golden Eagles defied expectation.
“It’s all the hard work paying off,” he said. “Nothing was going to be easy, winning a championship at any level…I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
The game and title almost slipped away, however. St. John’s started pressing and fouling early, and a 61-52 Marquette lead with 2:15 to go evaporated. A Jamal Branch transition layup tied the game at 63 with 28 seconds remaining. Williams credited uncharacteristic free throw misses for the late collapse.
“There was a little bit of shock that Davante missed his free throws, that Todd missed his free throw,” Williams said. “We didn’t at time handle their pressure the right way.”
Marquette will share the title with Georgetown, who obliterated Syracuse 61-39 earlier Saturday. Louisville has a chance to grab another piece of the title if they defeat Notre Dame Saturday evening.
The Golden Eagles clinched a double-bye in the Big East Tournament last week, and will have the No. 2 or No. 3 seed, pending Louisville’s result. The Golden Eagles will play in the evening session at the Garden Thursday.