St. John’s junior transfer Mustapha Heron was in some foul trouble in the first half of Sunday evening’s showdown with No. 13 Villanova in Madison Square Garden.
Heron had three fouls by the 14:21 mark of the second half, but he didn’t pick up another one the rest of the game. The former Sacred Heart superstar helped fuel the St. John’s comeback, and the Red Storm went on to knock off the Wildcats 71-65 in front of 19,812 fans. Heron wound up playing 35 minutes and compiled 19 points, five rebounds and one steal.
Heron’s 3-pointer with 8:25 remaining in the second half tied the game at 51-51. He grabbed a defensive rebound and buried two foul shots with 1:24 to go to put St. John’s up 61-57. Heron made four more free throws in the final 23 seconds to ice the game. He finished 7-of-8 from the foul line. Heron shot 5-of-9 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from behind the three-point line.
Heron and the Red Storm are certainly focused, even after the momentum that comes from a great comeback win.
“We’re not complacent. It’s good that we beat the defending national champions, but we still have the rest of Big East play,” Heron said during the postgame interviews. “Then we have a Big East Tournament. So getting to the NCAA Tournament is third on our list. We’re worried about Providence and every game after that.”
On Sunday, Heron helped St. John’s come up with an important win against a Villanova team that entered the game with an 11-1 record in Big East play.
Heron headshot photo credit: St. John’s University.
