Shamorie Ponds leads St. John’s to 76-73 win over No. 13 Butler in Big East opener

Shamorie Ponds scored 26 points, including four free throws in the final 9.1 seconds, as St. John’s upset No. 13 Butler 76-73 in the Big East opener for both teams at Carnesecca Arena Thursday night.

“I was just confident. I was confident going to the foul line and saying, ‘I’m going to make these two free throws,’” the Brooklyn-bred freshman said after the victory.

The Red Storm (7-7, 1-0), coming off last week’s overpowering 33-point win at Syracuse, came back from a ten point deficit with the Bulldogs (11-2, 0-1) before taking the lead at 72-71 on a free throw by Malik Ellison with 14.1 seconds left.

St. John’s kept the ball on the second miss and Ponds was fouled. He made two free throws before Tyler Lewis of Butler countered with the same at 6.7 seconds left. Ponds added two more with 6.2 seconds to go. Kelan Martin of Butler let a shot go from half-court at the buzzer that hit the rim before giving the young Red Storm team its first Big East victory of the season.

Tie game!!!! Malik Ellison with the steal and score to knot it at 69! pic.twitter.com/DknCw8SWqF

— St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) December 30, 2016

“He’s a really phenomenal player, but he also has that (calm and cool) personality,” Johnnies coach Chris Mullin said of Ponds. “That is his demeanor on and off the court.”

Bashir Ahmed added 19 points for the Red Storm.

Tyler Wideman had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting for the Bulldogs, and Martin scored 13.

The win ended Butler’s four-game winning streak over the Red Storm and stopped a streak of losses in St. John’s last four conference openers.

Chris Mullin lands top NYC recruit Shamorie Ponds for St. John's: Report

In what can only be called laying a solid cornerstone for the future of St. John’s basketball, Chris Mullin landed one of New York City’s top players Tuesday when Shamorie Ponds, a 6-1 guard from Thomas Jefferson High in Brooklyn, verbally committed to the Red Storm program.

“It felt like a perfect fit,” Ponds said at a press conference. “It is close to home. I’m St. John’s No. 1 recruit for the class of 2016 and they are putting the ball in my hands.”

In landing Ponds, Mullin, the first-year coach, already has done what his predecessor, Steve Lavin, had a hard time doing — keep the city’s top talent in the city.

"It was a long process," Ponds said at Tuesday's presser. "I'm attending the University of St. John's."

And nobody seemed happier than Matt Abdelmassih — the Johnnies new assistant coach and recruiter.

Just jumped up and down as people looked at me weird at my hotel in Prague. Great day for St John's & NYC #sjubb

— Matt Abdelmassih (@mabde33) September 29, 2015

The smooth-shooting Ponds is a four-star recruit and is rated as a top 50 recruit nationally by recruiting services Rivals and Scout. Ponds made an official visit to the school last month.

Ponds picked the Red Storm over Providence and Creighton, and becoming the first top local player to join Mullin’s program.

“I guess I can set an example,” he said. “This is basically a dream come true. I always wanted to stay home, play in front of my family.”

Arizona recently expressed interest and Ponds had offers from the likes of Minnesota, Miami, South Carolina, Seton Hall and Oklahoma as well. But his hometown school won out.

“They love me here,” Ponds said. “There’s no arena like Madison Square Garden. [Mullin] said, ‘If you put on a show there, you can write your own ticket.’”

Ponds, a southpaw with a sweet 3-point stroke, is the highest-rated local player to pick St. John’s since Maurice Harkless committed to play there under former coach Steve Lavin in August 2011. 

Ponds led Jefferson to the city finals two years ago and the semifinals last year, when he averaged 25 points per game, 8.6 rebounds.