Williams Leads St. John's Past Stony Brook

 

     Greg Williams Jr scored 9 of his game-high 21 points in what would become a decisive 22-2 first half closing run for St. John’s. He would then add a three pointer as St. John’s began the second half on an 8-0 run and cruised to an 89-66 win over local rival Stony Brook yesterday at Carnesecca Arena Sunday afternoon.

     “They threw the first punch”, Coach Mike Anderson said of the Seawolves. “But that’s typical when you’re talking about a school right down the highway.”

    Several Stony Brook players with connections to Metropolitan Area basketball helped forge them to a strong start. Juan Felix Rodriguez, who was a juco all-American point guard at Monroe College in New Rochelle ran the point effectively scoring at times and at times involving his teammates. Mo Gueye, a senior who prepped at Curtis HS on Staten Island finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Frankie Policelli of Long Island Lutheran finished with 14 points and a game high 10 boards. Each guy and other locals such as Tykei Greene all contributed as the Seawolves forged a 33-27 lead with 5 minutes left in the half.

     “I don’t think it was anything that was said”, Williams explained when asked what might have sparked the rally at the end of the half “I think we all just had that feeling as far as we need to get going, we need to play how we’re capable of playing,” he said. “So I think it was more so us taking that initiative and playing hard and playing together.”

     Williams led the charge both during the rally and throughout the ballgame. His 21 points matched a career high and he needed just 11 shots to achieve it. He added 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 steals to what may have been his best effort as a Johnnie. While he spearheaded St. John’s offense attack and was a constant presence around the ball in their press, he had lots of help. Julian Champagne finished with 16 points 4 assists and 3 steals of his own. Isaih Moore was a long and active presence at the top of their zone pressure and Posh Alexander, whose scoring numbers were modest was a persistent pest to Stony Brook ball handlers. His steal and pass to set up a Champagne 3 and cap the 8-0 third quarter start was a terrific effort play and served as an exclamation point on a very good win.

        St. John’s is scheduled to face Rider on Tuesday at Carnesecca Arena.

 

St. John's Takes First Loss to BYU 74-68

 

     BYU led nearly from wire-to-wire thanks to a balanced attack that included 5 double-figure scorers and 10 made 3-pointers. They held off St. John’s 74-68 and earned a win at the Mohegan Sun bubble in an early evening game yesterday.

    St. John’s led only twice; once after Isaih Moore on their first possession and again at the 12:38 mark of the first half when Julian Champagne connected for 3 of what would be a game-high 25 points.

    The Johnnies trailed 29-23 at the intermission. They quickly pulled to within a point to open the second half when Champagne converted a steal into a “hoop and harm” 3-point play and Posh Alexander fed Moore for a slam.

   “I thought we came out with the right energy, the right mindset,” Coach Anderson said of the 2^nd half spurt. But BYU responded quickly when senior guard Alex Barcello took a pass from center Matt Haarms and connected on a triple. Following a basket by Moore Barcello then assisted on a triple by junior forward Connor Harding. Barcello, who finished with a team-high 20 points for the Cougars on 8-11 shooting did a terrific job helping his team keep St. John’s at arm’s length. Despite a poor shooting effort that included 4-21 from beyond the arc, the Johnnies were able to hang around. The Cougars briefly extended their lead to 10 points with 2:16 left but St. John’s had one more rally in their bones. With a pair of baskets by Champagne and one by Dylan Adde-Wusu, they narrowed the deficit to 4 points with 40 seconds left. But the failure to rebound a missed Cougar free thwarted their last comeback attempt. “They held their poise,” Anderson said noting BYU’s ability to make big shots and key plays like the final unclaimed rebound. His lament about the team’s poor shooting was simply, “I know we’re a better shooting team than that”.

Notes and Observations: In addition to Champagne’s 25 points Moore had 11 and Greg Williams Jr added 10 points. Adde-Wusu was again a bright spot in limited minutes scoring 9 points on 3-5 shooting including 2-3 from beyond the arc. As part of the team’s pandemic adjusted schedule, they will face local rival Stony Brook at Carnesecca Arena on Sunday beginning at 2:30 pm.

St. John's Thrives And Then Survives in 97-93 win over BC

 

     In his belated season debut, Julian Champagne scored a career-high 29 points and added 10 rebounds. St. John’s led by as many as 20 points but needed a late defensive play from Champagne to preserve a 97-93 win over Boston College in the bubble at Mohegan.

     St. John’s roared back after the Eagles established an early 19-9 advantage. Posh Alexander, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the opening stanza on perfect 6-6 shooting, combined with Champagne to provide productive and efficient offense. St. John’s pressure defense and transition game were on full display and Alexander, in addition to showing a great scoring touch, had 5 assists and just one turnover.

                With the Johnnies leading 52-40 at the intermission the two teams traded hoops to start the second half. Then, a terrific sequence by Greg Williams Jr. propelled St. John’s to an 8-0 run and a 75-55 advantage with just over 13 minutes left. Williams’ terrific work included an alert flip pass to Dylan Adde-Wusu for a triple followed by a powerful slam off a feed from Marcellus Earlington which put the exclamation point on the spurt.

   Leading by 20 it appeared St. John’s might have taken their foot off the gas a bit. Coach Mike Anderson described it as “playing not to lose” but the result was that BC took advantage of the opening with a 14-0 run of their own that the lead to just 6 points.

    Adde-Wusu helped St. John’s regain their footing when he stopped the rally with an assist to Champagne for a layup. St. John’s pushed the margin to double digits before momentum turned again. A 10-1 run by Boston College in the game’s closing moments, fueled in part by 5 St. John’s turnovers in 6 possessions brought them to within 3 points. Even the normally reliable Champagne was bitten by the turnover bug as a miscommunication on an inbounds pass between him and Alexander gave the Eagles a chance to tie the game.    On that final possession, St. John’s defended a double screen and a pass to BC’s Wynston Tabb. He missed a corner trey and then had a follow shot blocked by Champagne, who picked up the loose ball and threw it ahead to reserve guard John McGriff who converted the first of two free throws to give St. John’s the 4-point margin that salted the game away. McGriff played just 3 minutes but made a key contribution in the game’s closing moments. The decision by Coach Anderson to sub him in for center Arnaldo Toro worked perfectly on BC’s last two possessions. Not only did McGriff provide terrific defense on the ball but the lineup put Champagne in position to hedge after guarding one of the screeners. Add to that his clutch free throw and his small but essential contribution to a big win cannot be overlooked.

Notes and Observations: Along with the terrific work by Champagne and Alexander, Greg Williams filled the stat sheet with 17 points 6 assists, and 2 steals.  He also filled in admirably taking the minutes that normally belong to Rasheem Dunn playing point guard when Posh Alexander needs a breather. Adde-Wusu tied Williams for team-high honors in assists while scoring 9 points of his own. Champagne’s 29 points came on 11-20 shooting, 2-5 from distance, and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe.

    The Johnnies will remain in the bubble to face BYU tomorrow at 5 pm; a game that replaces the canceled game against Texas Tech

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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.

 

Powell and the Pirates Survive a Scare From St. John's 82-79

    Myles Powell scored 23 of his game-high 29 points in the second half and lead Big East leader Seton Hall to an 82-79 come from behind win over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Saturday

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  “I’m not into moral victories”, St. John’s coach Mike Anderson said. “We lost a game at home and that’s gotta hurt but at the same time I thought our guys played against a very good opponent in Seton Hall and gave ourselves a chance.”

    For much of the game in fact, the Johnnies did much more than give themselves a chance. After trading baskets in the game’s opening moments, St. John’s went to work. Leading 28-27 following a Powell 3-pointer they closed the half on a 15-3 run. While LJ Figueroa scored 6 of his points during that stretch the rally was actually begun in earnest by terrific work from Josh Roberts who converted to rim running baskets first off a pass from Nick Rutherford and then on a fast break he started with a blocked shot and then finished with a great run and a great play fielding a tough pass from Rasheem Dunn for a terrific finish.  During that rally St. John’s pressure defense was also in full force and despite the Pirates’ experienced back court forced 15 first half turnovers and lead 43-30 at the intermission. A strong shooting start from both Figueroa and Mustapha Heron was complimented by what was easily Roberts’ best performance in conference play. He  finished with a career high 16 points and added 8 boards.

   The two teams traded baskets as the second half began as Roberts continued to be a forceful presence around the rim and some early pressure by Seton Hall helped loosen things up a bit for Myles Cale and Powell who scored his 2000^th career point on a steal and bucket early in the second half. The Hall’s improved second half offense included two long jumpers from Cale, one from the corner and one from the wing that were initially ruled 2-point baskets but changed to 3’s after video review. Pirates’ center Ramaro Gill who may be the Big East’s most improved player made his presence felt at the rim finishing with 14 points 13 boards and 6 blocked shots.

   The Pirates pulled to within 54-53 on a jumper by reserve guard Anthony Nelson with 12:41 remaining, tied matters at 56 moments later and took their first lead at 61-58 on a triple by Powell. The two teams traded leads for the next several minutes in a stretched that culminated in a hoop and harm three-point play by Powell that put the Pirates up by two followed by a quick aggressive drive by Dunn that tied the game again at 75. A Quincy McKnight free throw gave the Pirates the lead and then, following a St. John’s turnover Powell hit a driving layup to give them a 78-75 advantage. From there free throws by Cale and McKnight for the Hall and baskets by Dunn and Marcellus Earlington set the stage for a chance to tie the game at 82 for the Johnnies. But when Dunn lost the dribble off his foot, Earlington put up a desperation shot that fell harmlessly short.

Notes and Observations: The win gave Seton Hall the school’s first 6-0 start ever in Big East play. St. John’s dropped to 1-5 in the league and 12-7 overall.  The game honored the memory of Howard Garfinkel the late founder of the famed 5-Star Basketball Camps and High School Basketball Illustrated, which he published with co-founder Tom Konchalski until 1985 when he sold the publication to his long time partner, whom he recognized as perhaps the greatest evaluator of talent basketball has ever seen. Garf’s camps, with the help of coaches like Bobby Knight and Hubie Brown, pioneered many of the skill and team development techniques that are used by coaches around the world.

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.

Xaverian Holds off Young Terriers for 3rd Straight League win 64-51

     Strong first and third quarters which helped Xaverian build an early working margin helped them stave off a young and talented St. Francis Prep squad 64-51 in Bay Ridge last night.  The win marked the third straight in league play and the sixth straight overall for the Clippers and followed a pattern which they have demonstrated throughout this season.

    Led by their terrific perimeter trio of junior guards Shaun Fulcher and Nick Folk as well as senior guard Billy Reyes, Xaverian sprinted to a 21-10 lead. The ball movement was sharp and Reyes stroked a pair of long triples before changing things up by driving to the basket for a deuce.  Shaun Fulcher, who is just beginning to find his form after missing time with a hand injury had a triple of his own while Folk, who struggled with his normally reliable shot before hitting a game winner vs.         Loughlin on December 15^th was back to his old reliable self. 

    In the second quarter St. Francis began to find the range. Improving 6’3” junior Todd Rochelle and 6’3” sophomore Latiek Briscoe helped St. Francis slice the margin to 32-27 at the half. Briscoe showed a complete scoring arsenal for such a young player; rising up and shooting the ball from deep and from middle distance, and making plays at the rim showing great explosiveness for such a young player.

   The third quarter saw Xaverian pull away again. Using strong outside shooting and good work protecting the rim from Elijah Hardison the Clippers opened a 21-point margin in the third stanza.  Fulcher, who had a strong game from start to finish, was particularly good as a playmaker in that quarter; setting up plays for Folk and Reyes that required not only his speed and passing ability but good patience and, for lack of a better word, feel for when to pull the trigger on a play. And while there would be some uncharacteristic sloppiness from the Clippers that would help the Terriers close the gap again in the final period, they no doubt hope that those moments diminish as Fulcher, their point guard and leader rounds into shape.

            St. Francis would trim the lead to six on a rally capped when they ran Briscoe off a baseline screen and he drained a left corner triple. Xaverian made just enough plays and just enough free throws to win a game that was much closer and well contested than the final margin indicated. Xaverian continues to round into form while the young St. Francis Prep team continues to grow with experience and could prove to be a tough out down the stretch and in the playoffs. Reyes led the Clippers with 18 points while Folk added 17 and Fulcher 15. For St. Francis Briscoe tied for game high honors with 18 points while Rochelle added 12.