By SAM LANCE
Just when it seemed like St. John’s had the game wrapped up, Baylor guard Jeremy Roach had other plans. After back-to-back free throw misses by St. John’s junior big man Zuby Ejiofor, Roach had a final look at the basket to win the game. And he didn’t miss.
JEREMY ROACH WINS IT FOR BAYLOR AT THE BUZZER pic.twitter.com/cYbJlg9dYg
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) November 22, 2024
Baylor trailed by 18 in the first half and by five in the second overtime and came all the way back to stun St. John’s, 99-98 in double-overtime, in the first round of the Baha Mar Hoops – Bahamas Championship. Projected top-10 pick and Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe, although he struggled in his return to the Bahamas, hit a major 3-pointer to make it 98-96 before Roach’s heroics.
“Jeremy Roach is a big time player,” Scott Drew said to CBS postgame. “He’s a winner. He makes big plays… Love seeing him make that shot and the team celebrate.”
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino had a different reaction to the shot.
“Well, that was about as difficult a loss as you can have,” he said. “But give [Baylor] credit. They made 15 threes, and you’re not going to win many games [giving up that many threes], even though you make 14. It was a hard-fought game.”
The Bears now have two marquee non-conference wins against Arkansas and St. John’s after being dismantled by Gonzaga on opening night. The comeback vs. the Red Storm is Baylor’s biggest comeback since 2019.
Center Norchad Omier led the way for Baylor with 24 points. He was joined by five other players in double-figures, including Roach (20 points), freshman guard Robert Wright III (17 points), senior forward Jalen Celestine (14 points), senior guard Jayden Nunn (12 points) and the Bahamas native Edgecombe (10 points).
Roach, the Duke transfer, scored ten of his points in the second half and overtime.
“I had two free throws to put us up four in regulation, I missed the first one,” Roach said. “But my teammates had my back, they had confidence in me and I just wanted to make a play… We all came together, we never back down. So it was a beautiful win.”
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