As the buzzer sounded St. John’s,
and coach Mike Anderson, had their second consecutive 30-point win; this one an
87-57 win over Northeast Conference foe Central Connecticut State. They used a
20-0 run early in the second half to salt the game away, and as they had on Wednesday,
moved the ball on offense and used pressure defense to secure an impressive
win.
For much of the first half, the game did was
nothing like the blowout it became. St. John’s got off to a 13-4 start as
Mustapha Heron scored their first 9 points. But while St. John’s struggled to
find additional scoring, the young team from C.C.S.U., which features 10
players starting their first season for coach Donyell Marshall, found a nice
rhythm. Senior Jamir Coleman combined with a pair of Chicago-area freshmen,
Greg Outlaw and Myles Baker to help the Blue Devils gain their offensive footing.
They briefly took the lead at 18-17 when Outlaw flipped a pass to Stephane Ayangma
for a layup. St. John’s took the lead back for good on a layup by Heron, but
because Heron was the only one making shots early the Johnnies could not extend
their lead.
That said Heron’s performance in the
opening 20 minutes and throughout the game was nothing short of spectacular. He
scored 19 of his 30 points in the opening 20 minutes while his teammates struggled
to find the range. LJ Figueroa, who would come on strong in the second half,
needed a late trey to finish the first stanza with 8 points. Freshman forward,
Julian Champangie also endured early shooting struggles before he took a pass
in the key from Greg Williams and converted a short jumper late in the half. Fortunately for those two players and for St.
John’s both shots were a portent of better things in the second half.
With
the Johnnies leading 39-33, Coleman took a pass from Jamir Reed and connected
on a left corner triple to slice the deficit in half for Central. From there
the game took a dramatic turn in St. John’s favor. A pair of baskets by
Champangie and a steal and dunk by Heron began what would be a 20-0 run for the
Johnnies that effectively salted the game away. Figueroa would connect on 4 of
his 5 three pointers on the way to 17 points. And with point guard Nick
Rutherford saddled with foul trouble would finish with a team high 6 assists. Champangie finished with 10 points and 8
rebounds while center Josh Roberts protected the rim with 4 blocks.
“It was a tale of two halves”, Anderson
said, “The first half we didn’t shoot the ball well, in the second our defense
picked up and we made some shots”.
Heron’s 30 points came on 10-15 shooting
from the floor and included 6-7 from beyond the arc. “He’s got a good
basketball IQ and embraces wanting to be a leader” Anderson said of his star
pupil and senior leader who kick started the offense when it wasn’t quite clicking.
Heron showed a different kind of
leadership last season as he played through a nagging knee injury. If he can
stay healthy this season, St. John’s fans and their new coach will see a
special player.
Notes and
Observations: Central
Connecticut’s first half performance was impressive in this respect they committed
just 5 of their 21 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Senior Coleman and freshman
Outlaw shared team high scoring honors for the Blue Devils with 11 points apiece.
The 10 first year players for the Blue Devils included freshman forward Xavier
Wilson, who was a 2017-18 CHSAA champion for Archbishop Stepinac before prepping
at the Hotchkiss School (CT) last season. He finished with 5 points 2 boards
and 2 blocked shots.
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