Ahmed and Yakwe Help St. John's Go Inside for Win over Marquette.

              All season long St. John's coaches, fans, and perhaps even his teammates have been waiting for a game like this from Kassoum Yakwe.  As a freshman last season there were several of them for the 6'7" forward, including a game vs. Seton Hall at MSG where his effort and rebounding helped the Johnnies nearly steal a win.

              Last night's 86-72 win over Marquette at the Garden was hardly stolen. It was in fact a terrific all around effort that saw the Johnnies not only get strong performances on the perimeter but lots of production inside. Bashir Ahmed scored a career high 23 points and while that total included a pair of three point baskets, he also drove hard for scores when St. John's, adjusting to a zone defense by Marquette, had him flash into the middle take passes and drive hard to the basket. He made several baskets  in traffic and when he got to the line he shot a perfect 5-5.

              While Ahmed provided punch in the paint for the second half, it was Ahmed who did so particularly in the first 20 minutes and he did so in a way that looked familiar to those who saw him last year; slipping ball screens and cutting to the basket for finishes at the rim.  The difference between last season and this one may be that there are new perimeter players getting him the ball and they needed time to develop chemistry. Whatever the reason might be for Yakwe's  early season struggles, the difference last evening was immediately discernible according to one of those guards Marcus LoVett.

              "We're definitely a different team when Kassoum is on fire like  he was today and Bashir as well". Lovett said. Head coach Chris Mullin offered another reason for Yakwe's sophomore struggles, suggesting that Yakwe often playing as the only "big" on the floor was a contributing factor. And while Yakwe filled the stat sheet with 14 points 6 rebounds and 3 blocks Coach Mullin was quick to point out the contributions of the team's other big men, Tariq Owens and Darien Williams, who did not score a single point but provided a solid defensive presence guarding Marquette in the paint and were able to stay on the floor with Yakwe. Owens pulled in a game high 11 rebounds for the Johnnies.

              While the good work inside may have provided the difference in the game, the perimeter guys who have provided scoring punch all year were good as  well.  Shamorie Ponds finished with 18 points and a team high 7 assists which included a personal 7-0 first half closing run which gave the Johnnies a 45-37 edge at the half.  Lovett added 17 and 5 helpers. On the defensive end, St. John's effectively limited three of Marquette's key scorers. Sophomore Haanif Cheatham, senior Luke Fischer and freshman Marcus Howard all entered the game with double digit scoring averages for the Golden Eagles and all were held under those numbers while graduate transfer and three point shooting specialist Katin Reinhardt was held to just three points, making one triple in five tries.

              Coach Mullin called this his team's most complete effort of the season, and indeed it was thanks to terrific play at both ends of the floor and terrific balance on offense. In what has been a season full of excitement and exasperation for St. John's fans, 5 league wins with 7 games to go is certainly a sign of progress, and hopefully a sign of things to come.

Stanners Take Round One Vs. Royals 78-67

For one night at least, and perhaps others over the next two seasons given how good these teams are, it felt like the old days at an Archbishop Molloy -Christ the King game. They reportedly stopped selling tickets an hour and a half before the varsity, spectators were lined up 4 and 5 deep on the stage at one end of the gym and the buzz in the crowd remained constant from start to finish.

But the names and exploits of the great players from those days; like Kenny Anderson and Rob Werdann from Molloy along with Khalid Reeves and Derrick Phelps from CK are distant happy memories. And the gym at Molloy is now named for their late legendary coach Jack Curran, who guided the Stanners  through over a half century of great basketball.

       Last night's game between these two storied programs had so much more than just the elements of atmosphere and tradition for both sides. There was also plenty of talent on both sides. Combine that with terrific effort and fans were treated to a great game that was a much tougher win for Molloy than the 78-67 final tally indicates.

The electric atmosphere may have had something to do with both teams struggling to shoot the ball early. And in a game loaded with talented underclassmen it was a pair of upperclassmen guards who helped the Royals get and maintain an advantage early in the game. Georgia Tech bound Jose Alvarado was solid and smart as always and his spinning scoop shot where he took the ball under rather than over 6'6" Khalid Moore was the first of several highlight reel plays for the game. The Royals' best player last night though was his back court  partner junior Tyson Walker. He heated up from 3 point distance quickly, scoring 16 of his game high 27 points in the opening two quarters, played his typically pesky on ball defense against super soph Cole Anthony and had a terrific floor game.

Despite that difficult early moment guarding Alvarado Moore emerged quickly as the Stanners' best player. Statistically he finished with 21 points and 9 boards, he drove to the basket early and found his outside shot as the game progressed, He also involved fellow junior Moses Brown with his passing and helped set up what may have been the biggest play of the night.

The much anticipated battle of the big men, CK's soph Kofi Cockburn and Molloy junior Moses Brown never really got on track.  While both young players showed good improvement in some areas such as catching the ball and "second jump" if you will for rebounding, both guys spent significant time on the bench thanks to early fouls. Cockburn drew an unfortunate fourth foul halfway through the third quarter when he took a quick pass sprinting into the lane and could not stop to avoid a bravely taken charge by Molloy's John Herring. Molloy was able to take advantage as Anthony finally found some rhythm. He scored on consecutive drives to give Molloy a 5 point advantage when the tenure of the battle between the two big men changed completely. Perhaps frustrated by his foul problems. Cockburn rebounded a badly errant three pointer and tomahawked a right handed dunk over Brown. The dunk drew oohs and ahhs but the most impressive part of the play was the catch of a ball that rebounded sharply and at an odd angle off the glass. That play could have been a game changer for CK but Moore and Brown combined on a quick response with Moore making a spinning drive and dish to Brown for a two handed power slam. The dunk drew Cockburn's final foul and the sequence seemed stir a healthy dose of competitive anger in Brown, who controlled the paint, made his free throws down the stretch and combined with Anthony, who scored 11 of his 23 points in the final quarter to salt away round one for the Stanners. 

The game had an old school feel to be sure, and it may be an indication of an  old school ending for the season  in which these teams meet for a Diocesan title in March and in the inter-sectionals for what would be a fourth time. The "AA" division is as deep and talented as it has been in some time so the road to those games will not be easy, but both teams looked great last night and figure to improve with experience. The atmosphere and talent on the floor harkened an old basketball soul back to a glorious time in  New York hoops.

The Big Fundamental 2.0 Leads Creighton Past St. John's

              The immediate reaction to last night's 85-72 loss by St. John's to Creighton, was fairly predictable. Coach Chris Mullin "didn't like his players' overall energy." And the team's two best players, Marcus LoVett, and Shamorie Ponds questioned their own aggressiveness in the loss. It's almost reflexive these days for players to blame themselves in post game pressers. But the 4,928 fans in attendance might remember the game more simply as their first look at Justin Patton.

              Even those of us who follow recruiting closely on the internet had to do a little digging to find out about the young big man from Omaha. Two summers ago, ESPN and other services made him an consensus top 100 player. Though he was taken off that list by ESPN during his senior year at Omaha North High, big things were still expected from a guy whose length and athleticism made most observers think he could make an immediate impact on defense while his offensive game developed.

              Before the start of last season, both the youngster and the program made a decision to redshirt. Both player and coaching staff insisting that it was for the long term, that there was no physical issue or off court trouble.

              That athletic but unpolished player may have been the guy who arrived on campus two years ago but the player fans  were treated to last night combined that uber athleticism and length with fantastic fundamentals; catching everything, making perfectly time rim runs and using the glass on offense, while walling up to block and change shots on defense. Of his 4 assists three of them were perfectly timed back door passes from the high post to a cutter; two were bounce passes and one was a perfectly placed lob to the rim for a Marcus Foster slam. He also had 25 points and 9 boards, not a bad night's work for a supposed raw athlete who showed lots more polish than any of his more highly touted classmates at Kentucky and Duke.

              Patton's effort was part of a well-balanced Creighton attack that saw Maurice Watson orchestrate beautifully, add 19 points of his own and make a pair of crucial three pointers as St. John's tried to claw their way back into the game.

              The Blue Jays closed the first half with an 11-2 run to take a 44-26 advantage into the locker room, and followed that with a 6-0 opening burst to begin the 2nd half and push the margin to 24 before St. John's could find their footing. LoVett and Ponds lead the offense with 23 and 17 points respectively and Tariq Owens had a strong second half, finishing with 12 points and 5 boards. Despite their best efforts St. John's cut Creighton's margin under 10 just once at 63-55 on a LoVett basket with 6:17 left.  Watson responded quickly with a triple and the veteran Blue Jays, with help from their talented redshirt freshman Justin Patton put the finishing touches on a road win that will be precious in the rugged Big East conference. No doubt he left a lasting impression on the fans at Carnesecca Arena last night.  What they saw was a player who showed unusual patience by redshirting, and one who's now reaping the reward of that patience. For those who follow college basketball to the exclusion of pro ball enjoy him while you can. He deserves recognition with the so-called one and doners in other programs. And in fact, because of patience work and coaching, he may be a better pro than any of those guys.

St. John's Wins the Old Fashioned Way vs #13 Butler 76-73

              Before St. John's could put last night's 76-73 win over  #13 Butler on the left side of the ledger they had to endure one last scare. Even though the Red Storm's freshman star Shamorie Ponds had connected on four straight free throws, Butler still had one last chance to tie the game and force overtiime.  Bulldogs' guard Kelan Martin, who finished with 13 points took a pass and put up a half court shot that in hindsight may have reminded Butler fans of Gordon Hayward's last second heave against Duke in the 2010 National Championship game. Luckily for St. John's  Martin's shot also produced the same result. It was nearly perfect but bounced harmlessly off the rim. And at 76-73 St. John's had their first win over a ranked team since 2014, their first 1-0 conference start since 2011 and, perhaps most significantly, the first signature win of the Chris Mullin era.

              The win came thanks to several significant moments for St. John's, but perhaps the best thing St. John's did was compete and win in a game that was essentially an old fashioned Big East slug fest. With a loud and sold out crowd at Carnesecca Arena, they matched an intense and physical Butler team, played them even on the boards, and shot over 50 for the game against a defense that was infinitely better than the one they faced against Syracuse last Wednesday.

              Shamorie Ponds, who acknowledged the crowd in his post game remarks, was again the calmly efficient offensive star. His 26 points included a perfect 6-6 from the line and 9-15 shooting from the floor. It's worth noting also, that Ponds and his team mates did a terrific job of making the two point shots that Butler's extended defense gave them. They made just 4-16 three point tries but got enough from  2 point distance and enough from the free throw line (18-23) to earn the win. They combined that shooting effort with perhaps their best effort of the season defensively, holding a Butler team filled with veteran scoring options to 46% shooting from the floor and 24% from beyond the arc. And they held Butler's top two scorers, Martin and center Andrew Chrabascz  to 13 and 4 points respectively.

              The two teams played a  nearly even first 30 minutes and in the early going St. John's found offense from Bashir Ahmed who scored 11 of his 19 points in the first half. They also got another big lift from Darien Williams, who finished with six points on perfect shooting and six rebounds. While the Red Storm limited Butler's two top scorers they got strong contributions from Tyler Wideman  and guards Avery Woodson and Kethan Savage.

              The two teams were tied at 38 as the second half began. The veteran Bulldogs slowly began to build their margin behind Savage, Woodson and some unexpected good work off the bench from center Nate Fowler.  Butler grew that lead to 61-51 on a triple by Woodson with 10:34 remaining and after St. John's  quickly trimmed the lead to 5 on an Ahmed triple the next few minutes were played within a 3 to 7 point window.

        After a Martin jumper made the score 69-64 with 2:56 left, St. John's began what would ultimately be a victorious final push. Ponds connected on a contested three pointer and then combined with Malik Ellison  for a steal that saw Ellison scoop up the loose change and slam home the game tying basket. A layup by Wideman gave Butler the lead back but St. John's got another contested jumper, this time by Marcus LoVett, to pull even  at 71 with 41 seconds left. Ellison was then fouled rebounding a Tyler Lewis miss. He made the first free throw but missed the second only to be picked up by team mate Tariq Owens whose hustle created a tie up and kept possession with St. John's The inbounds play that followed allowed St. John's to get Ponds to the line where he drained both free throws. St. John's fouled purposely but Lewis made them pay for that strategy cutting the deficit back to a single point with 6 seconds left. Butler fouled Ponds again and again he made both free throws. With the lead back up to 3 points Chrabascz missed a long triple. Lewis then alertly fouled Williams who had rebounded the miss sending him to the line. He missed the free throw, which Chrabascz rebounded and quickly pitched it ahead to Martin for his last ditch game tying attempt. As the ball bounced off the rim and the team and fans celebrated a great win, national prominence may have still seemed a ways off for St. John's. But what they did do was welcome themselves back to the ultra competitive scrum that is Big East Conference Basketball. Two weeks ago even that first step forward did not seem likely to be made this season, but here they are and it's sure nice to have them back.

                                                                                                                                           

Penn State Makes Quick Work of St. John's At MSG

              Just as there had been in last Sunday's loss to LIU, there was a brief moment of prosperity for St. John's in this Sunday's loss to Penn State. It came with 9:47 left in the first half and gave St.  John's a 24-17 lead. But where last Sunday's loss unfolded slowly for the Red Storm, Penn State put this one away quickly with a 35-5 half closing spurt that turned their 7 point deficit into a 52-29 half time edge. From there, former Villanova assistant coach Pat Chambers' squad coasted to a 92-76 win over the Johnnies and planted more doubt in the hearts of St. John's fans about the direction of the program.

              Just as it had been last Sunday, St. John's defense was the chief culprit in the loss. In last week's game a handful of breakdowns gave LIU the opening they needed. In this one, the defense collapsed completely and Penn State simply got whatever shot they wanted. It would be easy to recite gruesome defensive numbers here but the eye test for today's game was likely uglier and more informative for those who watched. Mike Watkins Penn State's redshirt freshman center provided for the Nittany Lions everything that St. John's needs and doesn't get from its big men. He finished with 15 points 13 boards and 3 blocks and his point total included several finishing dunks off drive and drop assists from fellow freshman guard Tony Carr.

              What should perhaps worry St. John's fans most is that the Red Storm were beaten by a team whose roster and playing rotation is similar to their own. Three freshmen, Carr, Watkins and rugged forward Lamar Stevens start. And there are just two juniors in their top 7 players. Simply put Penn State's big guards got past St. John's small ones on offense. On defense they held St. John's three top scorers, Shamorie Ponds, Marcus LoVett and Bashir Ahmed to a combined 8-35 shooting clip. Inside the Lions sturdy but mobile Watkins proved more than St. John's tall but thin shot blockers could handle. It's clear that at 5-7 St. John's still has lots of work to do. They face old rival Syracuse on Wednesday before beginning conference play. In the future there will be more roster adjustments but for now every part of the team has to get better. There are, as coach Mullin said, a lot of games left but even for fans that want one of their favorite sons  to succeed it's difficult to remain optimistic in the face of bad losses and this one was as bad as it gets.

LIU Upsets St. John's At Barclay's Center 74-73

              With a bit over a minute and a half to go, St. John's appeared to be on the verge of their 4th straight win having dodged a major bullet. Malik Ellison had made a perfect diagonal pass to Federico Mussini who drained a left corner triple to give St. John's a  who drained a left corner triple to give St. John's a 73-69 lead. The play came off a blocked shot by Kassoum Yakwe, who had had an otherwise difficult day. And it gave St. John's a two possession margin after several failed tries to get it.

              The Johnnies did not handle their moment of prosperity well at all. In transition they failed to pick up  junior Iverson Fleming who was allowed to dribble into a triple of his own and slice St. John's margin back to a single point.  A side out set play on the next St. John's possession saw Shamorie Ponds hit a cutting Yakwe perfectly in the hands but he could not secure it and the ball fell harmlessly out of bounds. This time LIU found Iverson on a dribble hand off, they set a ball screen at the left elbow that Ponds appeared to cheat towards ever so slightly. Iverson adjusted with a hard dribble away from the screen and a double pump that gave him the perfect angle to bank a shot softly off the glass for the game winner. St. John's had two more chances, and in fact earned the last one when Ponds deflected an inbounds pass off an LIU players leg. On the final play they got Ponds a decent look for a free throw line jumper but the shot was short off the front rim and the Blackbirds from Brooklyn had their upset.

              After the game both Ponds and coach Chris Mullin made the perfunctory how they did not bring the same kind of energy they had in the win against Fordham on Thursday. And Mullin lamented the lack of execution on offense. I think it's worth noting also that the struggle to execute for St. John's or any other team that's struggling also happens at the defensive end of the floor. In addition to the last two plays where they failed to pick up Iverson in transition and then failed on ball screen defense, they were out maneuvered repeatedly by LIU's post players, former St. Anthony's (NJ) star Jerome Frink and redshirt junior Nura Zanna.

              The Blackbirds two "bigs" repeatedly got deep post position and scored easily in the lane against St. John's shot blocking. Sure Yankuba Sima did not play after announcing plans to transfer but with two shotblockers, Yakwe and Tariq Owens, still in the lineup Zanna an Frink combined for 33 points and 23 rebounds against St. John's inside players. In what could be described as a bit of basketball irony St. John's best big man yesterday was senior Darien Williams, himself a below the rim guy  who found himself suddenly moved up on the  depth chart with Sima absent. "I thought he was phenomenal", Mullin said of Williams. "If we did not have him in the first half we'd have been down by 20. I asked our guys at halftime to match his intensity at half time but we couldn't", Mullin said.  Despite Williams effort LIU outscored St. John's 32-24 in the paint.

              While St. John's effort may not have been what it needed to be, their execution and poise certainly wasn't. Marcus LoVett's absence for the third straight game did not help but this game was more about what LIU did in maintaining their poise than what St. John's did not do. Even when St. John's built their biggest margin at 58-51 early in the second half LIU never got rushed. Iverson, whose 21 points included the game winner led a back court that proved to be as tough and smart on the perimeter as Frink and Zanna were in the paint. Coach Jack Perri's team broke their own 2 game losing streak and ended a 3 game winning streak for St. John's.

              Notes and Observations Williams finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Trailing late in the first half St. John's staged a comeback and outscored the Blackbirds 11-5 without the benefit of a field goal. Ponds finished with a team high 18 points for St. John's while Bashir Ahmed added 14 and Mussini 10 for the Red Storm. LIU also got  10 points from Jashaun Agosto, a speedy freshman from Seattle Washington. With the win LIU moves to 7-3 while St. John's drops to 5-6 with the loss. 

Ponds Leads St. John's Past Fordham For 3rd Straight Win

              For some St. John's fans, the Red Storm took a step towards restoring order in New York City college hoops.

              Last night's 90-62 win over Bronx rival Fordham was easily the Johnnies best effort of the season. And in the eyes of those who think St. John's needs to re-establish college hoops supremacy in the city it avenged last season's loss at Rose Hill.

             Just as he did in a much tighter game Monday against CSUN Shamorie Ponds took control of the offense early and led St. John's to the win.  Thursday's performance was even better than Monday's for both Ponds and the team as a whole. The freshman guard from Thomas Jefferson High finished with 26 points on 7-11 shooting from distance and 9-13 overall. He did his usual  yeoman's job on the boards hauling in 7 caroms and added 9 assists and 4 steals.

              "It's not possible without my teammates", Ponds said of his performance, "they have really made the transition (to college basketball) easier for me."

              Also just as he did Monday Ponds came up huge in the absence of his backcourt partner Marcus LoVett, who missed his second straight game with a sprained ankle. While Ponds continued to establish himself as a leader in LoVett's absence. Federico Mussini came off the bench to score 20 points on 7-9 shooting. His driving basket and foul as the first half buzzer sounded capped an 8-0 run and helped St. John's regain their footing after Fordham had cut a double digit deficit to one on a basket by Taveras. After the two teams traded baskets to begin the second half an 11-2 run for the Johnnies effectively salted the game away. That rally included a three-pointer plus one from Ponds. Overall the Johnnies converted on 58% of their shots and 48%  from three point distance. Bashir Ahmed (11 points) and Tariq Owens (10) were the other double figure scorers.

              Both Owens and Malik Ellison made terrific contributions to St. John's defensive effort. Owens had 4 of his team's 10 blocks but more significantly did the best job of any Johnnies big man defending Chris Sengfelder, contesting his outside shots on pick and pop or trail three action. Sengfelder did finish with 20 points but much of that came when Owens was either off the floor or tending to more traditional defensive responsibilities at the rim. Similarly Ellison's primary contribution came guarding Fordham's best player Joseph Chartouny.  Injury related rust likely contributed to Chartounny's struggles but Ellison's length and due diligence helped limit him  to an 0-7 shooting night.