At this point it is not about whether St. John’s from the mat can not pick up. It has been proven to have a rubber jaw. It’s about how fierce the Red Storm will be if they bounce back.
The Johnnies have reacted to adversity all year and played their best under the most unfavorable situations. However, Saturday night’s 81-71 victory over Seton Hall in the Carnesecca Arena was their most impressive performance yet.
St John’s trailed 18-0 in less than seven minutes and played without Posh Alexander (sprained thumb). It would be easy to fold. But this team did not break.
St. John’s continued to fight and attack, and Seton Hall outscored the rest of the way with a stunning 28 points, and he went on to lose a three-game losing streak to his local rival and the Pirates to a fourth. to send consecutive defeat.
‘We definitely have a different culture, and I think [we’re in] a good direction to move forward, ”said junior Greg Williams Jr.
With the win behind, the Red Storm (16-10, 10-9 Big East) clinched the fourth series in the upcoming conference tournament and a winning league season for the first time in six years. A win or two next week in the Garden – St. John’s will compete in the quarterfinals no. 5 Meet Seton Hall – and the NCAA Tournament can play again.
Without Alexander and with Isaih Moore (‘decision of the coach’) for just three minutes, coach Mike Anderson went deep into his bench with excellent results. His reserves yielded 33 points, including 14 from rookie Dylan Addae-Wusu and 12 from Marcellus Earlington. Rare backup Arnaldo Toro and John McGriff gave important minutes, especially on the defensive side.
Julian Champagnie, the team’s leading scorer,’s biggest constant remained the same, scoring 22 points, six rebounds and two steals. Williams and Rasheem Dunn each scored five assists and five rebounds while combining 18 points.
“I think when we meet, we stay together,” Williams said. “We did not argue so much with each other or anything like that. We just stayed positive and tried to make a difference in the game. ”
St. John’s, much larger than Seton Hall, 33-32, ignited the Pirates in transition. The Johnnies limited Pirates senior Sandro Mamukelashvili to 15 points, 17 fewer than he produced in the first meeting between the two teams, a Seton Hall victory. Mamukelashvili also had 10 rebounds, while Shavar Reynolds added 13 points for Seton Hall (13-12, 10-9).
The first half was bizarre. St. John’s was just as cold as Seton Hall from the start, and he missed his first ten shots off the field. The Pirates were 18-0 ahead – this is not a wrong pressure – before the Red Storm knew what had hit them.
But from there, the team that played so well on Wednesday, which overwhelmed Providence in the second half, resurfaced. St. John’s was just 10 points behind at halftime and dominated the second half, scoring 26 of the first 34 points after the break. St. John’s shot 66 percent in the final 20 minutes, yielding 50 points for the second half for the second consecutive game and forcing nearly as many returns (seven) as the goals made from the field (11).
“Our guys played like it was their last game of the season,” Anderson said.
It was obviously not. Next up is the Big East Tournament. St. John’s was of the opinion that he was ready to make a big run last year. He was the leading Creighton player in the quarter-finals halftime before COVID-19 led to the entire national season being canceled. Now the Johnnies will be at the garden again with the chance to finish what they started.
“We’ve been looking forward to this moment,” Williams said, “this whole year.”