St. John's and Seton Hall players scuffle during post-game handshake (VIDEO)

After trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half, St. John's made a strong second half comeback before losing 62-61 to their arch rival Seton Hall Pirates at Madison Square Garden Sunday.

The Red Storm struggled down the stretch as the Pirates almost let their NCAA Tournament bubble hopes get popped by the Big East bottom-dwellers.

Even though Seton Hall (19-7, 9-5) avoided what would have been a horrible loss to St. John's (8-20, 1-14), tempers were still heated in the postgame handshake line when a scuffle between the two teams led to several Pirates players pulling teammate Derrick Gordon off the court.

Things got testy after it appears that St. John's' Durand Johnson had a few choice words for Seton Hall star Isaiah Whitehead after the officials had already exited the floor.

Seton Hall and St. John's exchanging words #sjubb #shubb https://t.co/lyUwaRsIBm

— Terrence Payne (@terrence_payne) February 21, 2016

The tense scene carried over from the game after the Red Storm had a one point lead with five seconds left but the officials made a questionable foul call on Ron Mvouika that sent Whitehead to the line. Whitehead nailed both free throws and the Johnnies failed to get a shot off to win it with two seconds remaining.

Then the fight erupted.

Fight broke out on the court after the game. pic.twitter.com/PT99s24GAP

— Emily Van Buskirk (@Emilnem) February 21, 2016