Not today. Not this time. Not again.
St. John’s finished on Sunday. It closed out a quality opponent.
It gave its fans something to cheer for, a reason to believe that maybe there is still some life left in this season.
There was no second-half collapse.
Instead, there was a team that raced out to a big lead and finished off an elite opponent, knocking off No. 15 Creighton, 80-66, at a rocking Garden for the first signature victory of the Rick Pitino era.
It was tenuous late, before Jordan Dingle and Daniss Jenkins took over, scoring all 15 points in a game-clinching 15-4 run that turned a five-point lead into a 16-point bulge.
Dingle started it with a pair of short jumpers and Jenkins closed it with nine consecutive points.
By the end of the run, MSG was as loud as it has been all year for St. John’s.
After dropping eight of 10 games, the Johnnies (16-12, 8-9) have won two in a row and could win out, with Butler, DePaul and Georgetown left on the schedule.
That’s what it will take for them to get back into the at-large conversation.
This was the Red Storm’s best performance all season, particularly on the defensive end.
They held Creighton, which was coming off a rout of No. 1 Connecticut, to 23 percent from 3-point range and shut down star wing Baylor Scheierman (12 points on 4-of-16 shooting).
Jenkins was brilliant, notching a season-high 27 points, six assists, two steals and two blocks and Dingle added 18 points.
Glenn Taylor Jr., who has seen his role reduced, turned in his best game of the year with 10 rebounds, six assists and lights-out defense.
Trey Alexander led Creighton with 31 points.
The first half followed a familiar pattern.
St. John’s started well, and built a sizable lead.
It raced out to a 10-point edge just seven minutes in and closed the half on a 17-3 lead, taking a 13-point lead into the break.
15 Creighton on Sunday. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
It defended incredibly well, limiting sharpshooting Creighton to 4-for-17 from 3-point range.
The high-scoring duo of Steven Ashworth and Scheierman combined to shoot 4 of 16 from the field.
The Johnnies, meanwhile, shot 56 percent from the field, led by Jenkins’ 12 points and four assists.
Unlike recent games, St. Jonn’s didn’t come apart after the break, though Creighton did slowly cut into the lead.
It was just a five-point game at the under-eight timeout behind Alexander’s 11 second half points up to that point.
But Dingle and Jenkins took over from there.
St. John’s finally found a way to close out a big game.