St. John's Finds its Zone and Greene Finds the Range for a 67-63 Win Over Bucknell

              For a team like St. John's scheduling a team like Bucnell brings with it a stark set of pros and cons. On the one hand coach Steve Lavin would like to challenge his team against Dave Paulsen's Bison who are not only experienced but tournament tested as he three time Patriot League champions. The pitfall is s possible loss to a team from a one bid league that hoops insiders may know is very good but  the general public may not see that way.

              For much of the first half it looked as though St. John's was headed for that proverbial "bad loss" as Bucknell used its wide open but patient style to spread St. John's out and create driving lanes to the basket. Senior  guard Cameron Ayers started quickly on his way to a career high points 26 points while junior guard Steven Kaspar ran the show nearly flawlessly.  St. John's got enough done offensively, thanks in part to some good early work by freshman Rysheed Jordan so, that they trailed by  just 35-32 at the intermission.

              Bucknell quickly bumped that margin back to 9 points with a 6-0 burst out of the locker room and maintained a working  margin until the Red Storm employed the zone that they've used often and effectively through Lavin's first three seasons. It helped them all but shut down Bucknell's dribble penetration and, kept their big men in the paint where as coach Lavin said they were "like hockey goalies" protecting the rim. The Red Storm combined for 13 blocks while Chris Obekpa , the nation's leading shot blocker last year had 7.

              Once they found their zone on defense St. John's would then find the mark on offense.  Entering the game they had made just 2-23 triples. And while Jordan would make one early it was Phil Greene IV who would ultimately find the range and lift St. John's offensively. Greene who finished with a team high 16 points, hit consecutive 3 pointers on great feeds from Orlando Sanchez and D'angelo Harrison to give the Johnnies a 46-45 lead with just over 12 minutes left. Following a tip in by former Gil St. Bernard standout Dom Hoffman that gave Bucknell a brief lead Harrison hit a clutch trey to halt any momentum swing. St. John's took the lead for good at52-51 when Sanchez fed Obekpa for a dunk  with just under 9 minutes left.  The spurt that secured the win included another triple from Harrison and a dunk by Sir Dominic Pointer who contributed his usual energy and a team high 6 assists.

              St. John's faces newly minted MAAC foe Monmouth on Saturday at 9 pm and should do so filled with confidence thanks to a win against a veteran team that is tournament tested and tournament tough.