QUEENS, New York – Xavier basketball wasn't working with its typical style and finesse against St. John's University, so head coach Chris Mack didn't get cute when he needed to call a play to bury the Red Storm.
Sixth-ranked Xavier led 69-68 with 42 seconds to play. The Carnesecca Arena crowd was at full throat and the Musketeers needed just a few more points and a couple stops to avoid defeat against a St. John's team that entered the game winless in Big East play.
The play Mack called was for graduate transfer Kerem Kanter, who would essentially find himself unguarded after rolling off a ball screen, just as the play was designed.
The reason for the call? "It worked a couple minutes earlier," Mack said.
The result? "A big-time play that put us up three" with 18 seconds to go, Mack said.
Kanter fumbled the ball after receiving a hot, behind-the-back pass from sophomore guard Quentin Goodin but recovered to dribble his man and lay the ball up. It was swatted, but goaltending was called on the bang-bang play on the glass.
The disputed goaltending call stood and put Xavier up 71-68. That, along with three consecutive defensive stops in the final minute, proved to be the backbreaker in the Musketeers' 73-68 escape from Carnesecca Arena Tuesday night before a crowd of 5,344.
Kanter went for 13 points in the game and Trevon Bluiett, who iced the contest from the free-throw line, finished with a team-high 14 points.
"It didn't look good, but if we can go on the road and win, it's always good enough," Goodin said afterward.
The Xavier win saw Musketeers come off the ropes several times against a St. John's team that was desperate to break its 10-game slide.
The lead changed seven times in the game and was tied as late as the 2:12 mark in second half.
The Musketeers had 16 turnovers, too, but still managed to relegate the Red Storm to 0-11 in Big East play and 10-13 overall.
The Musketeers were the highest-ranked team to play in the on-campus St. John's gym since second-ranked Syracuse in February 1980. They improved to 20-3 overall and 8-2 in the Big East.
"We didn't play particularly well but I thought St. John's had a lot to do with that," Mack said. "They hit you with quickness on both ends of the floor... We knew it would be a tough game. We didn't have any kind of mindset - at least the coaching staff didn't - we didn't have any inkling it wasn't going to be a tough game."
ANALYSIS: Not a great escape, but an escape nonetheless
• Xavier looked about as you would have expected following a six-day break from play after last week's win over Marquette, although players and Mack didn't blame any of the atypically sloppy play on their bye week. The fundamentals were lacking at times, as was evidenced by XU's 16 turnovers, but toughness and grit was never absent. And one of the fundamentals – free-throw shooting – was in great supply. Xavier hit 17 of 22 in the game to help edge St. John's.
• Xavier's diverse offense seemed particularly problematic for the Red Storm, which received 73.5 percent of its own offense from Marvin Clark II (19 points) and Shamorie Ponds (31). By contrast, Xavier had four players in double figures. In addition to Kanter and Bluiett, Goodin (13) and J.P. Macura (11) also made life difficult for the hosts. Kaiser Gates came alive late as he finished with all five of his points coming in the final eight minutes. Freshman Naji Marshall added seven points. All those players contributing, along with almost every Xavier player that saw the floor, seemed to be more than the hosts could cope with.
• St. John's needs a win. They're desperate for it and after eight of their 11 league losses have come by less than 10 points, they can practically taste it.
Xavier's fortunate they weren't the team to be bitten by St. John's head coach Chris Mullin's team.
Mullin, who has a shorthanded bench and is down a star player in the injured Marcus LoVett, said he's surprised a team as good as his is 0-11 in Big East play.
"This is what we're dealing with now and I think it's important we do it together and do it openly and honestly and we'll get to the other side and look back and be proud of ourselves," Mullin said afterward. I'm proud of the way they're playing. It's just, you know, getting that 'W.'"
Mullin was candid and honest in his postgame remarks. Just minutes earlier, he left the floor after cursing at a Big East Conference official that was sitting courtside.
Mullin's anger was due to officiating decisions in the game. He said those concerns weren't addressed by league officials immediately following the contest.
The potential is there. St. John's has shown it in two games against Xavier this month that were decided by a combined 11 points.
The Red Storm also held Macura and Bluiett to a combined 7 of 26 from the field and 25 points. That shared stat line for the Musketeers senior stars is typically part of the recipe for a Xavier loss.
For now, Xavier remains a half-game back of Big East leading Villanova. The Musketeers will host Georgetown on Saturday (6 p.m.).