Cole's Late Buckets Help St. John's Avoid Upset

 

    Junior guard Vince Cole scored the game’s final 5 points and rallied St. John’s from the brink of an opening-night upset to a 76-75 win over St. Peter’s at Carnesecca Arena last night.

      St. Peter’s Matthew Lee drained a pair of free throws to give the Peacocks a 75-71 lead with just under 30 seconds left. Cole followed that with a tough drive to pull the Johnnies to within a bucket.  Following a time out freshman, Posh Alexander chased down an errant inbounds pass. He nearly double dribbled but the loose ball came to Greg Williams who calmly passed to Cole in the corner. Cole then drained his 5^th triple in six tries to give St. John’s the lead with 8.5 seconds left.   On the final possession for the Peacocks Lee used a quick spin dribble to get by Alexander and to the rim where another juco newcomer, 6’9” Isaih Moore altered the shot and then took down the miss to preserve the win for the Johnnies.

   Cole’s performance was particularly impressive not just because it came in his first college game. It also came in a game where St. John’s had very little rhythm on offense. St. Peter’s, by contrast, found rhythm quickly and were able to spread St. John’s out and make good decisions against their trapping zone.  In a game they lost, Coach Shaheen Holloway’s team shot 50% from the floor and 42% from beyond the arc.  St. John’s successfully countered those numbers by converting on 21-25 free throw tries. Coach Mike Anderson noted that they took advantage of their size, including a perfect 6-6 from Moore who finished with 12 points. Posh Alexander also drove to the basket effectively and made 6 of his 8 tries from the stripe. He finished with 16 points.

   On paper, St. John’s and St. Peter’s appear similarly experienced; with rosters made up primarily of sophomores and juniors. A closer look at the two teams shows that the Peacocks have a lot more experience playing together which may account for the crispness of their ball movement and defensive rotations as well as their poise after St. John’s took its largest lead of 8 points early in the second half. A pair of experienced sophomores, Darryl Banks, and Lee provided 13 and 11 points respectively, while a pair of bigs with local connections, KC Ndefo of Lincoln High and Fousseyni Drame of Our Savior New American consistently found gaps in St. John’s zone for 16 and 11 points respectively.

           St. John’s faces another test on Thursday against LaSalle. They will again likely be without forward Julian Champagne who missed this game because of an ankle injury. They may be without senior leader Rasheem Dunn who required stitches after landing hard on his chin. While Cole’s clutch shooting and their physicality helped them grind to a season-opening win, a season full of obstacles may become even more difficult than expected if injuries or illness become factors. As coach Anderson said St. John’s will indeed need everybody for the season to be a success.