January 2, 2019
Taking on its first ranked foe of the season, the St. John's men's basketball team steamrolled No. 16/18 Marquette, 89-69, on Tuesday night at a sold-out Carnesecca Arena.
The Red Storm (13-1, 1-1 BIG EAST) last recorded a higher margin of victory against a ranked opponent on Dec. 9, 1998, against No. 20 Pittsburgh, a 73-52 win for the Johnnies in what was then known as Alumni Hall.
St. John's extended its regular season winning streak against ranked opponents to three dating back to last February and picked up its first ranked victory on campus since defeating No. 13 Butler on Dec. 29, 2016.
As a team, the Johnnies shot 53.6 percent from the floor and made 11 of their 24 attempts from beyond the arc (45.8%). Defensively, the Red Storm held Marquette (11-3, 0-1 BIG EAST) to 41.9 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range, well below their season averages of 46.0 percent and 38.8 percent, respectively. St. John's snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Golden Eagles that included three victories over ranked opponents.
After an off-night in the Red Storm's season opener on Saturday, Shamorie Ponds responded in a big way against the Marquette. The junior guard from Brooklyn tallied a game-high 26 points, 20 of which came in the first half, on 8-of-15 shooting. The southpaw made four of his seven tries from beyond the arc in addition to grabbing seven boards and dishing out a game-high five assists. The conference leader in steals, Ponds also registered a pair of thefts.
Ponds passed a pair of St. John's legends in two different categories on Tuesday. Finishing the game with 1,489 career points, Ponds moved past Bill Schaeffer (1,484) into 14th place on the program's all-time scoring list. His 175th career steal leapfrogged Ponds past Mark Jackson (174) and into eighth place on the Red Storm's all-time ledger for thefts.
Marvin Clark II also cracked the 20-point plateau, finishing with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a 4-for-6 effort from three-point range. The redshirt senior forward also collected seven rebounds and made all four of his tries from the charity stripe.
All five starters scored in double figures for St. John's. Mustapha Heron tallied all 16 of his points in the second half in addition to pulling down a game-high eight rebounds. Justin Simon logged 12 points and five boards while LJ Figueroa notched 11 points and three dimes.
Leading the BIG EAST at 25.1 points per game heading into the contest, Marquette guard Markus Howard recorded his lowest scoring output of the campaign thanks in large part to the defensive efforts of the Red Storm. The junior, who has a pair of 45-point performances to his name this year, made just two of his 15 field goal attempts and scored a season-low eight points in 26 minutes of action. It marked the first time this year that Howard failed to reach double figures.
The Johnnies, who entered the game ranked fourth nationally in turnover margin, suffered an uncharacteristic start to the game in that respect, coughing up nine possessions in the first 15:07 of game play. The Red Storm then went without a turnover for the next 21:59.
Taking on the top rebounding team in the BIG EAST, the undersized Johnnies matched the Golden Eagles in that department, as each squad finished with 35 boards. The Red Storm also equaled Marquette with seven second-chance points.
Sedee Keita saw his first action in nearly two months following knee surgery, registering a pair of blocks in nine minutes.
After falling into an early three-point hole thanks to a Joey Hauser triple on the game's first possession, the Johnnies scored the next 10 points and 13 of the next 15 overall. Ponds scored 11 straight for the Red Storm on that run, converting on two old-fashioned three-point plays in the process.
Leading 19-14 after a Simon midrange jumper near the midway mark of the half, St. John's saw Marquette rattle off a quick 7-0 run to take a 21-19 edge just over a minute later.
The two teams battled back and forth over the next few minutes before the Johnnies created some separation before the break. With the score tied at 25 and four and a half minutes left to play, the Red Storm outscored Marquette 14-6 the rest of the way. Clark tallied the team's first five points before Ponds poured in the squad's final eight points of the stanza, including a pair of long threes to put an exclamation point on the period.
The Johnnies continued to pour it on early in the second half, moving ahead by double digits for the first time on the period's opening possession. Ahead by 10 with four and a half minutes gone in the half, The Red Storm then used a 12-4 run to take an 18-point lead, 63-45, on a Heron three ball with 12:38 to go.
Marquette clawed back within 12 less than two minutes later, but the Johnnies responded once again, unleashing an 8-1 run to move ahead by 20. Heron scored five of the team's eight points on the tear.
The Johnnies would lead by as many as 21 before the final whistle.
St. John's will begin a two-game road swing on Saturday afternoon, heading to the nation's capital for a 1 p.m. showdown with Georgetown on CBS and 570 AM WMCA. The Red Storm will then head to Villanova for a Tuesday tilt with the defending national champions.
Story credit: Red Storm Sports