Marquette came up short in double overtime for the second straight game, losing to St. John’s 91-90 Saturday on senior day.
Davante Gardner scored 21 points, Todd Mayo netted 20, and Jamil Wilson had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Golden Eagles. Jakarr Sampson, D’Angelo Harrison and Rysheed Jordan each scored 20 points for the Red Storm.
Marquette finishes 9-9 in the Big East and will need to win the conference tournament next week in New York to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles locked up sixth place and will play Thursday at 8:30 p.m. CT at Madison Square Garden. The opponent is yet to be determined.
Down one with 19 seconds left after a Jordan free throw, Marquette’s final possession of the game broke down. Derrick Wilson, arguably the team’s last shooting option, needed to take a hasty shot from the baseline after Jamil Wilson was forced to pass out of a trap.
The game certainly could have been over much sooner for the Golden Eagles, who clawed back from six points down with 11 seconds to go in regulation. Gardner made two free throws to cut the deficit to four. Jamil Wilson stole the inbound pass and dished to senior Jake Thomas, who made a layup to cut the deficit to two.
Orlando Sanchez was fouled immediately and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Marquette coach Buzz Williams decided not to use his final timeout and let his team play through.
Mayo’s floater as time expired fell through, sending the BMO Harris Bradley Center crowd of 16,784 into a frenzy.
In the first overtime, the Golden Eagles were behind 78-74 with 2:27 left. Mayo converted on an and-one layup to slice the margin to one, and Jamil Wilson connected on a three in the next possession to hand the lead to Marquette.
Sanchez’s layup tied the game, Gardner made a free throw to go up one, and Jordan made a free throw of his own to knot the game at 81 with 15.9 seconds left.
Mayo tried for the final shot again, but Jordan swiped the ball away and the Red Storm’s 75-foot Hail Mary was no good.
A key turning point in the second overtime was Harrison’s deep 3-pointer with 57 seconds left that tied the game at 90. St. John’s.
Gardner and Otule took control in the opening minutes, scoring Marquette’s first 10 points.
St. John’s responded with a 14-3 run to take a 21-13 lead with 11 minutes remaining. Dente Burton would go on to score eight of Marquette’s next 12 points to give the Golden Eagles a 28-27 lead with just over four minutes to go.
Jake Thomas stole an inbound pass and made a 3-pointer as time expired in the first half to give Marquette a 36-35 lead at the break.
St. John’s shot 50.7 percent for the afternoon. Marquette finished at 44.1 percent.