St. John’s crushes Virginia in decisive comeback

NASSAU, Bahamas. The first theme of this St. John’s season has been resilience.

That was evident in the way they handled the exhibition game at Rutgers, the shaky first half against Wagner and the second half against New Mexico when the game got tight at the Garden.

Still, there was uncertainty about how the Johnnies would handle a crushing double-overtime loss to No. 13 Baylor at the buzzer, a game in which they led by five with less than 10 seconds left.

November’s losses aren’t getting any worse.

St. John’s responded as if it had been here before as a unit, playing perhaps its most complete game of the young season.

Unlike Thursday, a strong first half was followed by an even better second half, defeating Virginia 80-55 in the consolation game of the Baha Mar Hoops Championship.

Rick Pitino was able to clear his bench with more than five minutes left in this rout.

St. John’s put on a show.

Ten different players scored, led by R.J.’s 18 points. Louis and 12 points from Kadary Richmond.

Davon Scott nearly had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Zubi Ejiofor bounced back after missing two late free throws against Baylor with eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

He knocked Virginia out of the paint, 38-12.

He made 10 three-pointers and shot 52.5 percent from the field.

The Johnnies were plus-eight in points and committed just seven turnovers, two areas that hurt them in the loss to Baylor.

If St. John’s was tired after its double-overtime loss to Baylor on Thursday night, it didn’t look like it.

He ran often, turning turnovers and misses into transition moments. It featured five dunks, highlighted by Smith’s alley-oop shot that showcased the guard’s impressive 6-foot leap.

A 16-0 run, bolstered by nine points from Louis, helped St. John’s take a 19-point lead.

Virginia really picked up the momentum late in the half and trailed by just 13 points after Isaac McNeely finished with four points with 0.4 seconds left in the first half.

Luis fouled him, his shot hit the front of the field and landed on target.

It was still a strong first 20 minutes as St. John’s outscored the Cavaliers in the paint 20-4 and in transition 11-0, turning 11 turnovers into 14 points.

And unlike the previous night, there was no respite. Just a one-sided victory that was desperately needed.