Figueroa Leads the way as St. John's Earns Sixth Straight Win.

       In what would ultimately be a convincing 85-64 win for St. John’s Shamorie Ponds played as he had in the win at Rutgers on November 16^th, putting aside his role as a dominant scorer and helping others, particularly Mustapha Heron and LJ Figueroa to provide the scoring punch. While those two games stand in direct contrast to Ponds’ emergence as both a dominant and more efficient scorer in leading St. John’s to a 6-0 start this season, his 6 assists, 2 turnover 6 rebound effort last night was essential to a winning effort.  While it may have been statistically less impressive than his 35-point 7 assist 7 steal game winning shot, MVP performance a week ago against VCU it was likely every bit as important in the context of the Red Storm’s season. As Ponds took a secondary role, other players flourished, especially sophomore forward Figueroa.

       All season long Figueroa has been an exceptionally reliable second scoring option for St. John’s, as well as the ultimate mismatch guy in Chris Mullin’s offense. And he has played that role not only scoring and creating opportunities for teammates, but he’s done it while averaging a team high 8 rebounds playing much of that time as an undersized front court player.

     “He has great instincts, he really does. He has a really good nose for the ball for rebounds”, coach Chris Mullin said. “He’s got great energy.”

   All of that was on display as the Massachusetts native who arrived via Odessa (TX) JC helped St. John’s take control early with a 20-6 run to start the game. He ended that game with the second double double of his career, scoring 25 points while hauling in 13 boards and adding 5 steals. His triple with just over four minutes left in the opening stanza gave the Red Storm a 43-17 advantage. The second half saw some sloppiness from St. John’s and saw the visitors trim their margin to 15 but they could get no closer.

In addition to Figueroa, St. John’s got 20 points from Mustapha Heron, who bounced back from a poor shooting effort against VCU, while Mikey Dixon continued to provide strong scoring punch off the bench with 14 points on 5-8 shooting that included 4-7 from beyond the arc.

   St. John’s travels to Florida where they will face ACC rival Georgia Tech, and former Christ the King star Jose Alvarado, on Saturday at noon. The game will be part of the Air Force Reserve HoopHall Invitational.

Strong Opening Night Lifts St. John's Past Loyola (MD)

    St. John’s began what they hope will be a long and successful run in the 2018-19 season with an opening that went significantly better than last week’s dress rehearsal.

    “The effort was a lot better”, coach Chris Mullin said of his team’s convincing 76-55 win over Loyola (MD) in a game that featured the St. John’s debuts of seven players, most notably Auburn transfer Mustapha Heron. The wiry strong 6’5” wing did not disappoint. The numbers looked good, 15 points and 7 rebounds, but the eye test looked better perhaps because he and Big East Player of the Year candidate Shamorie Ponds worked so well together.

    Ponds had a terrific all-around game that could be an indication that he’ll be an even better player this year than last even though he’ll likely not be counted on to score as much with the arrivals of Heron and reserve Mikey Dixon who finished with 13 points off the bench.

   While Ponds did indeed finish with a game high 20 points, the rest of the stat line, 9-15 shooting 4 assists combined with just two turnovers, was more efficient than many he posted last season. Combine that with 3 rebounds and three steals and you have a line that indicates a complete player and, perhaps more significantly for the team’s fortunes, one who doesn’t have to force action.

   The Red Storm’s improved energy and effort helped lift them to a quick 9-0 start to open the game. They expanded that to 13 before the Greyhounds were able to gain some footing. They closed the gap to 21-14 before the Johnnies responded and pushed the lead to 19 with a rally capped by a lefty triple from Heron that made the score 37-18. They maintained that margin and then expanded it to 25 with a 6-0 half closing spurt that included an “and one”3-point play from Dixon and a 35-foot buzzer beating triple from Ponds which gave the Red Storm a 48-23 halftime edge from which they never looked back.

    St. John’s will face a tougher test when they meet the Falcons of Bowling Green from the Mid Atlantic Conference (MAC) on Friday at 6:30 pm. For long time fans of local HS hoops the Falcons’ coach is former Adlai Stevenson (BX) star Michael Huger. He is now in his 4^th season coaching his college alma mater.  

           

St. John's Gets a Warning Shot in Exhibition Win

       Yes, St.John’s 71-54 exhibition win over Division II Maryville University was “only an exhibition”, and yes, they were missing a key guy in transfer Mustapha Heron, who missed the game because of a concussion. The visitors from St. Louis played great and by doing so not only gave coach Chris Mullin a game that should get his team’s attention, but gave all involved in what looks to be a promising season for St. John’s a glimpse will face in the immediate future.

    For teams from the other major conferences such as Rutgers, Cal and Georgia Tech, the upcoming games represent an opportunity to get a win against a Big East foe that will look good on a potential tournament resume. For teams like Bowling Green as well as local rivals St. Francis & Wagner, a game against St. John’s is a chance to score a confidence boosting upset that could help them in conference play once the calendar turns to 2019.

  By playing as hard smart and effectively as they did Maryville gave St, John’s a blueprint of how games like the ones coming up can turn into unexpected losses. They moved the ball so crisply that they made twice as many threes (12) while taking just four more three-point shots than St. John’s and while they were out-rebounded and out-scored in the paint by substantial numbers, watching the game it seemed as if they took advantage of every defensive lapse with either a three or a well timed cut, pass or drive to the basket. All of those are key ingredients to the upset recipe in college basketball and if the team wants to put itself in the best position for a tournament bid they must not allow the opposition to use that upset formula.

    St. John’s led by just 4 at the intermission and had the Saints take a brief lead on a triple by Chaz Glotta before regaining their footing for a win. The Saints success from beyond the arc demonstrated perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the Red Storm’s effort. On all but a handful of occasions, St. John’s was late closing to opposing shooters and often without a hand up to contest. Only juco newcomer LJ Figueroa, who drew praise from coach Mullin for his energy, and Shamorie Ponds, who filled the stat sheet despite a rough shooting night seemed to play with the competitive energy that will be needed against better competition and especially when conference play begins

   St.  John’s will learn a bit more about themselves on Tuesday when they face Patriot League foe Loyola (MD) . For them, Maryville should be remembered for firing a kind of warning shot that should remind them simply that their energy and effort have to be better for them to have success.