Produced by: redstormsports.com
January 16, 2019
Entering the game on the heels of back-to-back losses, the St. John's men's basketball team righted the ship on Wednesday night, downing Creighton, 81-66, at Carnesecca Arena.
Boasting the BIG EAST's top scoring offense and the nation's second-best 3-point field goal percentage entering the game, the high-flying Bluejays (10-8, 1-4 BIG EAST) were held in check by the Red Storm (15-3, 3-3 BIG EAST). Creighton's 66 points fell 18.5 points short of its season average and marked the team's second lowest output of the campaign. The Bluejays, who came to New York shooting 43.9 percent from deep, made just 31.4 percent of their tries (11-of-35), their third-lowest single-game percentage of the season.
After missing the Red Storm's contest with DePaul due to a muscle strain in his back, Shamorie Ponds returned on Wednesday night and immediately made his presence felt. The junior guard from Brooklyn poured in 22 points, registering his fourth-straight appearance with 20 or more.
Ponds, the BIG EAST leader in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio and steals also finished the game with five helpers, no turnovers and two steals.
LJ Figueroa notched his fourth double-double of the season and his first of BIG EAST play, tallying 16 points and tying a career high with 13 rebounds. The former junior college All-American made seven of his 12 tries from the floor in 34 minutes of action.
After going scoreless in limited first-half action due to early foul trouble, Mustapha Heron helped St. John's seal the game in the latter stanza. The Auburn transfer netted all 18 of his points after halftime, nailing seven of his eight second-half field goal tries and connecting on all three of his opportunities from the charity stripe.
Justin Simon turned in yet another well-rounded performance for the Johnnies, posting 16 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and a game-high four steals.
Marvin Clark II, who had just one career outing with double digit rebounds this time a week ago, reached that mark for the second time in as many tries at Carnesecca Arena. The redshirt senior from Kansas City registered 10 boards in addition to seven points on 2-of-3 shooting.
St. John's won the battle of the boards for the first time in BIG EAST play, pulling down 42 rebounds to the Bluejays' 31. The Red Storm also registered fewer turnovers than its opponent for the 17th time in 18 tries this season, coughing up just nine possessions compared to Creighton's 13. The Johnnies turned those 13 miscues into 17 points and outscored Creighton on second chance points by an 11-2 margin.
After trading buckets with the Bluejays in the early going, St. John's watched Creighton unleash a 12-2 run midway through the first half and open an eight-point lead, 23-15, with 7:48 remaining in the opening stanza.
The Red Storm fell behind by as many as nine, 28-19, on a Marcus Zegarowski three with 6:17 to go, but quickly responded with one of its best stretches of the season. The Johnnies sank their next eight field goal attempts, outscoring the Bluejays 18-3 over the ensuing 3:28 to open up a six-point lead. Ponds scored the run's first eight points, knocking down two triples and a jumper. Simon also added six points during the spurt.
Leading by five, 39-34, at the half, St. John's saw Creighton open the period on a 7-3 run to pull within one at the period's first media stoppage. Following a timeout, the Red Storm rattled off 10 of the game's next 12 points to pull ahead by nine, 52-43, with 12:53 to play. Heron and Ponds each recorded back-to-back buckets on the tear before Simon capped it with his second triple of the game.
Creighton would not go quietly, slashing its deficit back to five, 56-51, on another trey from Zegarowski near the midway mark of the period. The Johnnies, however, came up with an emphatic answer once again, outscoring the Bluejays 13-4 over the next five minutes to blow the game open and take a 69-55 lead with five minutes to go. Figueroa led the way with five points on the tear.
The win marked the first for the Red Storm over Creighton in seven tries. Prior to Wednesday, the last St. John's team to top the Bluejays was propelled by a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double from D'Angelo Harrison on Feb. 7, 2015.
The Red Storm returns to action on Saturday afternoon, traveling to Indianapolis for a 4:30 p.m. showdown with Butler at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The contest will be broadcast live nationally on FOX and will be carried locally on 570 AM WNYM.