Buckle up, St. John’s fans.
The Rick Pitino era kicked off Saturday afternoon, and if this charity exhibition was an indication, this season promises to be a roller-coaster ride.
In Pitino’s first game as the Johnnies’ coach, his team went from dominant to dominated to gutty in an exciting double overtime, 89-78 victory over Rutgers at Carnesecca Arena.
St. John’s blew an 18-point halftime lead, then prevailed in the second extra session after Nahiem Alleyne’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer forced an extra five minutes.
Glenn Taylor Jr., a transfer from Oregon State, owned the second overtime.
He scored seven points for St. John’s in the period and the Red Storm iced it when Daniss Jenkins found Alleyne for a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to nine with 50 seconds left.
The first half and second overtime went as Pitino would’ve scripted this dress rehearsal.
The second half and overtime was along the lines of what he feared with so many new players.
In all, there were positives and negatives.