NEWARK – (Staff report from Official News Release – A typical Saturday in the BIG EAST, filled with drama and a surprise or two, left the league standings with a four-way tie for first place at 3-1 among Seton Hall, St. John’s, Villanova and Connecticut.
Seton Hall’s 3-1 mark shows all three wins coming against ranked opponents. The Pirates (10-4) knocked off No. 7 Marquette 78-75 at Prudential Center behind the offensive punch of Al-Amir Dawes (23 points) and Kadary Richmond (21). The Hall led 76-66 with 2:25 left and withstood a frantic rally by the Golden Eagles that cut the lead to one point. Oso Ighodaro led Marquette (11-4) with 22 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
St. John’s got to 3-1 with its wire-to-wire 81-71 win over Villanova at Finneran Pavilion. Joel Soriano led the Johnnies (11-4) with 20 points and eight rebounds. Daniss Jenkins added 18 points and five assists. In his first start, freshman Brady Dunlap netted 15 points. St. John’s is 3-1 for the first time since 2010-11. TJ Bama was outstanding for Villanova (10-5) with a game-high 23 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Georgetown got its first league win when it held off DePaul 68-65. The Hoyas (8-7, 1-3) led 62-61 with 4:11 left, but kept their lead against the Blue Demons (3-11, 0-3). A potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer by DePaul missed the mark. Supreme Cook led four Hoyas in double figures with 14 points. Ismael Massoud added 13 points and seven rebounds. Da’Sean Nelson paced DePaul with a game-high 19 points.
Creighton saw an 18-point second-half lead reduced to one, but the Bluejays recovered to post a 69-60 victory against visiting No. 23 Providence. Ryan Kalkbrenner led Creighton (11-4, 2-2) with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Trey Alexander had 21 points, five boards and five assists. The Friars (11-4, 2-2), playing their first game without the injured Bryce Hopkins, got a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds from Devin Carter. The Bluejays made a 3-pointer for the 1,000th straight game.
BIG EAST play resumes Tuesday with Seton Hall at Georgetown and Creighton at DePaul.