NEW YORK (AP) — Dillon Mitchell had 17 points and 11 rebounds as St. John's rallied from 15 down in the second half to beat Seton Hall 65-60 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, giving Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino his 899th career win.
Pitino can reach 900 on Saturday at Xavier with a win over his son, of all things. Richard Pitino is in his first season coaching the Musketeers.
Bryce Hopkins added 13 points and eight boards for the Red Storm (14-5, 7-1 Big East), who sit just outside the AP Top 25 this week. St. John's has won five straight and seven of eight.
AJ Staton-McCray scored 16 points to pace the rugged Pirates (14-5, 4-4), who lost their third game in a row. Tajuan Simpkins added 14 off the bench, and Stephon Payne had 13 points and 15 rebounds.
After a one-week stint at No. 25 in the AP poll, Seton Hall didn't receive any votes this week following home losses to then-No. 3 UConn and Butler.
Seton Hall took a 38-32 lead into halftime and scored the first nine points of the second half to open a 47-32 cushion — matching the largest deficit for St. John's all season.
But the Red Storm got more aggressive on both ends and chipped away, aided by some poor free-throw shooting by the Pirates.
Mitchell's layup with 4:53 remaining put St. John's ahead 55-54, its first lead since there was 6:43 left in the first half.
Seton Hall visits DePaul on Saturday.
St. John's plays Saturday at Xavier, pitting Rick Pitino against his son for the first time in a conference game. Richard Pitino is 1-3 in coaching matchups with his father, including a loss last season at MSG with New Mexico.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
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