Eight days later, St. John’s performed another Houdini attack. 

Down 10 at halftime. Getting thoroughly outplayed. Its engine Deivon Smith on the bench in sweats.

But just like against Georgetown last Tuesday, the Red Storm staged a furious comeback.

St. John’s No. 20 took an extra five minutes this time to secure a win over Xavier, with a score of 79-71 in overtime at the Garden on Wednesday night. This victory marked their sixth consecutive win and 12th out of 13 games played.

The Red Storm dominated the extra session by scoring the first eight points, with six of those points coming from Zuby Ejiofor. This victory kept them at the top of the Big East standings, holding a record of 17-3. This is the best record for the school through 20 games since the 1985-86 team, which started with an 18-2 record.

Kadary Richmond scored a St. John’s career-high 19 points and added seven rebounds and five assists and Simeon Wilcher and Ejiofor scored 16 apiece.

RJ Luis added 16 points and seven rebounds as the Johnnies rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS

In the first half, Xavier managed to break through the defense of St. John’s, which was ranked fifth. However, St. John’s turned the tables in the second half and overtime, limiting Xavier to only 31 points. They also outscored the Musketeers in the paint, with a significant lead of 48-24.

Down 16 at one point, St. John’s made a number of charges.

A 12-2 burst got them to within eight. A 10-2 run made it a one-point game.

When Richmond scored inside with 3:41, the Johnnies had their first lead since early in the first half.

The building, quiet most of the first half and early part of the second, was rocking.