St. John's And Coach Anderson Earn First Big East Win Over DePaul 74-67

       Just as he had been for St. John’s Garden win against West Virginia on December 7^th, Rasheem Dunn proved to be a difference maker.  This time however, the circumstances were a little different and decidedly more urgent.

                They were different because on Saturday against DePaul Dunn was making his first start for the Johnnies, and they were urgent because he and his teammates were coming off three straight Big East losses. In fact, both teams came into Madison Square Garden looking for their first conference wins, and it was DePaul who sprinted to an early 13-7 lead behind early inside work by Jaylen Butz and terrific penetration by Kansas transfer Charlie Moore, who was a thorn in the Red Storm’s side from start to finish. Whether he was creating scoring chances for himself (14 points) or for others (12 assists) his ability to get into the lane was the one part of DePaul’s offense that St. John’s could not solve.

   After DePaul’s quick start, the Johnnies began to find their footing, and the effects of the lineup change began to show themselves. Creating a 3-guard look by starting Dunn in place of freshman forward Julian Champagnie had a positive effect on the lineup that went well beyond what was Dunn’s best outing; a season high 18-points, a team high 9 rebounds and 5 assists with just three turnovers.

    Perhaps the biggest benefactor of the lineup change was senior Mustapha Heron, who found himself repeatedly in matchups where he could use his quickness against DePaul’s power forwards. And to his credit he mixed things up beautifully; at times creating space for 3-point tries (he made 3 of 6 attempts) and at times getting to the rim (for one field goal and a perfect 4-4 from the line). He finished with 14 points including 8 of the team’s final 11 points in the first half and sent St. John’s to intermission with a 39-34 advantage. He then added 5 more in the opening moments of the second half to extend the lead to 45-34.

   St. John’s lead by 10 with 12:30 left when DePaul used a 6-0 spurt capped by a Moore bank shot to cut the lead to 53-49 a minute later. That’s when the player most directly affected by the lineup change, Champagnie, scored 4 of his 11 points during a 9-1 St. John’s run that gave St. John’s its largest lead at 62-50 with just over 8 minutes to go. DePaul would close that margin to within 5 in the game’s final moments but free throws by Greg Williams and LJ Figueroa provided the finishing touches for a much-needed win for St. John’s and coach Mike Anderson’s first Big East Conference win.

Notes and Observations: St. John’s allowed DePaul just 3 treys in 15 tries after allowing 28 of them in 3 conference losses. They forced 23 turnovers while committing just 8, perhaps another affect of the lineup change. It helped offset a 41-30 rebounding disadvantage for the Johnnies. Anderson continued to lament his team’s inability to finish games and play with a lead. If I may use a football metaphor to describe the problem, St. John’s is struggling to play at times when they need basketball’s equivalent to “4 minute offense”; that point in the game when they have a working margin and want to take time off the clock while continuing to try and score. The late contested shots and turnovers during that stretch nearly cost the Johnnies but some key defensive plays by Marcellus Earlington, who finished with 4 steals, and Williams helped them secure the win. In addition to his 11 points Champagnie had 4 rebounds 3 assists. St. John’s heads to Providence on Wednesday. Start time is 8:30 pm.