NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Senior Mike Nzei had his fourth career double-double and Shavar Reynolds hit a 3-pointer as time expired to help Seton Hall beat St. John’s 76-74 on Saturday night in the Big East opener for both teams.
Nzei had 14 points and 10 rebounds - his first double-double of the season - and Reynolds finished with eight points. Myles Powell scored 15 points and Quincy McKnight and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 14 apiece for Seton Hall (10-3). The Pirates have won six in a row and nine of their last 10.
Seton Hall trailed by as many as 14 points and Mustapha Heron hit two free throws to give the Red Storm (12-1) a 69-59 lead with 6:35 to play. St. John’s went scoreless for the next four-plus minutes and Mamukelashvili’s 3-pointer capped a 10-0 run that made it 69-all with 3 ½ minutes left. Marvin Clark II hit a 3 - the Red Storm’s first field goal more than seven minutes - but McKnight and Powell made back-to-back layups to give the Pirates their first lead at 73-72 with 60 seconds to go. Heron hit two free throws to put St. John’s in front with 44 seconds left and, after LJ Figueroa blocked Powell’s shot out of bounds, Seton Hall called time out with 3.9 seconds remaining. Mamukelashvili took the inbounds pass from McKnight near the left block and kicked it out to Reynolds on the right wing for the winner.
Heron led the Red Storm with 19 points. Clark and Justin Simon added 16 points apiece.
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