College hoops tip-off marathon: Detroit at St. John’s live blog

2:01 - Detroit won the Horizon tournament and went to the big dance last season, but even if they hadn’t, the presence of Ray McCallum Jr. alone makes them worth watching on a Tuesday afternoon. The biggest storyline here, however, is the return of St. John’s coach Steve Lavin, who missed virtually all of last season while battling prostate cancer. The Johnnies are once again young, but talented.

Prediction: St. John’s by 4

2:04 - I like to think of myself as a younger, more Southern Fran Fraschilla. I’ve actually never thought of myself like that. I don’t know, I’m starting to slip a little bit here.

2:09 - Not a lot of points, but mother of God there is some athleticism on display here.

2:33 - Poor shooting from both sides, but a close, entertaining game nonetheless so far. The Johnnies lead 23-22 and have held preseason Horizon League Player of the Year Ray McCallum Jr. to 3-of-10 shooting from the field.

2:49 - The athletic freak that is Doug Anderson completes the dunk of the marathon so far with a vicious put-back slam.

2:53 - It wasn’t exactly great basketball, but it was impressive. Detroit leads St. John’s 37-29 at halftime.

3:06 - Anderson video:

Young man has what the kids call “bounce.”

3:18 - Things getting a little bit chippy here, but it’s got the crowd into the game as St. John’s has pulled to within four at 41-37.

3:33 - And suddenly neither team can stop the either from scoring. Detroit leads 54-48 with a little less than 12 minutes to go. McCallum and Jason Calliste have combined to score 32 points for the Titans.

3:38 - We’ve reached the completely numb portion of the marathon. Don’t feel like eating, don’t feel like thinking, couldn’t make a joke if my life depended on it. These are the bad times.

3:43 - Haven’t eaten since the Gummy Sweet Tarts. Something that probably needs to change.

3:48 - Huge sequence as Detroit misses a pair of bunnies on one end and lets D’Angelo Harrison bury a wide-open triple on the other. Momentum is on the side of the Johnnies now, as they’ve cut the lead to two at 60-58.

3:55 - St. John’s getting to all the loose balls and playing with more bounce right now. They’re also playing with their first lead in a long time at 64-62.

3:57 - Chris Obekpa will block anything around the rim. The freshman could provide the inside presence SJU has been lacking in recent years.

4:01 - In his first college game ever, Chris Obekpa has tied the St. John’s record for blocks in a game with seven. One more and he breaks it...which you probably could have figured out on your own, but whatever.

4:10 - Obepka’s legend grows as he buries a huge jumper in the final minute.

4:12 - It’s a final: St. John’s comes from behind to beat Detroit, 77-74. A really good win for a really young team and a head coach who had been out of the game for a year and-a-half.

Harrison came off the bench to lead the way for the Johnnies with 22 points. McCallum finished with 19 for Detroit.

Once again, I miss a perfect prediction by a point.