No. 20 St. John's defeats Xavier 79-71 in overtime, extends winning streak to six

In a thrilling overtime victory, No. 20 St. John's overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat Xavier 79-71 on Wednesday night, marking their sixth consecutive win. Kadary Richmond led the Red Storm with a career-high 19 points, while Zuby Ejiofor scored six of his 16 points in the extra period. St. John's improved to 17-3 overall and 8-1 in Big East play, positioning themselves at the top of the conference standings. The team demonstrated resilience, rallying from a tough first half where they struggled defensively, allowing Xavier to take a significant lead. With this victory, St. John's achieved its best start through 20 games since the 1985-86 season. The Red Storm's comeback was fueled by a strong performance in the second half and overtime, limiting Xavier to only 31 points during that stretch.