Saturday afternoon represented St. John’s first true test in its quest to cement itself as a national contender in Year Three under Rick Pitino.

The game between No. 15 Alabama and the fifth-ranked Red Storm in front of 17,319 at an electric Madison Square Garden was about as good as any college basketball game in early November can get. St. John’s survived constant bursts from the high-octane, rapid-tempo Alabama offense, but it ultimately could not survive the final blow late in the second half of a 103-96 non-conference home loss.

Oziyah Sellers’ jumper gave St. John’s an 87-86 edge with 6:09 left, but Taylor Bol Bowen’s three-pointer with 5:44 remaining gave Alabama the lead for good at 89-87 and began a 14-1 run that made it 100-88 with 1:44 left.

Late in the game, St. John’s went

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