Red Storm men’s basketball team wins second BIG EAST road game in less than 48 hours
Produced by: redstormsports.com
February 7, 2022
For the first time in eight years, the St. John's men's basketball team is leaving Hinkle Fieldhouse with a win.
After trailing by as many as nine in the second half, the Johnnies raced back for a 75-72 victory, snapping a seven-game losing streak on the road against the Bulldogs that dated back to the 2014-15 season. The game marked the Red Storm's second road win in less than 48 hours and its third game played in the last five days overall.
St. John's, which entered the contest ranked last in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage, shot a season-high 84 percent from the stripe. The Johnnies (13-9, 5-6 BIG EAST) made 21 of their 25 charity chances on the afternoon, including a 9-for-10 effort in the final 2:15 of the game.
Julian Champagnie went 9-for-10 from the stripe on his way to a team-high 21 points, sinking all six of his free throw tries in the final 3:26 to help seal the contest. The second leading scorer in the BIG EAST and the team's top rebounder this season, Champagnie also grabbed eight boards and recorded a pair of steals.
Aaron Wheeler continued his stellar streak of play against BIG EAST opponents, scoring an efficient 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 effort from the charity stripe. The Purdue transfer has now finished in double figures nine times in his last 10 appearances.
St. John's managed to gut out the win despite playing without one of the gutsiest players in the country down the stretch, as Posh Alexander subbed out with 2:26 to play after turning his ankle near the five-minute mark. Before exiting the game, Alexander recorded 12 points, five assists and two steals in 31 minutes of action.
For the second straight game, Joel Soriano finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, netting 12 points and blocking a pair of shots for the Red Storm.
Dylan Addae-Wusu added seven points and four assists in 23 minutes of action.
The Red Storm committed a season-low six turnovers and grabbed 29 boards to the Bulldogs' 27, marking the fifth straight game in which the Johnnies have won the rebounding battle. After starting 9-of-18 from beyond the arc, Butler made just one of its final 10 three-point attempts following a St. John's defensive adjustment.
The Johnnies and Bulldogs (11-12, 4-8 BIG EAST) traded blows throughout the first half. Neither team led by more than five. The advantage changed hands 10 times and there were six ties in the opening 20 minutes of the contest, the last of which came on an Addae-Wusu corner triple to beat the buzzer make it 41-41 at halftime.
The Red Storm managed to keep it even in the opening stanza despite Butler's hot hand, as the Bulldogs shot 57.1 percent from the field (16-of-28) and hit seven of their 15 attempts from beyond the arc (46.7%).
Butler came out of the locker room firing, making seven of their first 10 second-half attempts and jumping ahead by nine, 57-48, following a pair of treys from Bo Hodges, who led all scorers with 22 points on the afternoon. St. John's responded by holding the Bulldogs scoreless for the next 4:18, rattling off a 10-0 run to reclaim the lead, 58-57, on an Alexander jumper with 10:31 to go.
From there, St. John's went scoreless for the next 4:05, but Butler managed only five points during that stretch to keep the game within reach for St. John's. Wheeler snapped the streak with a pair of free throws before knotting the game at 62 on a midrange jumper with 5:53 remaining.
Hodges put the Bulldogs back on top, 64-62, with a layup on the next possession before Soriano finished a feed from Alexander and Wheeler drained a step-back, baseline jumper to put the Johnnies in front, 66-64, with just over four minutes remaining.
With the score tied at 68 and just over two minutes to go, Addae-Wusu made one of two from the stripe before a stop on the other end kept the Johnnies in front. On the ensuing offensive possession, Tareq Coburn drew a shooting foul and, despite losing his contact lens on the play, drained them both to put the Red Storm up three, 71-68, with 1:19 to go.
Butler managed a pair of layups in the final 30 seconds to pull within one, but Champagnie answered the bell both times, calmly stepping to the stripe and knocking down all four of his free throws.
St. John's will return to action next week with a pair of ranked opponents at "The World's Most Famous Arena," welcoming No. 12 Villanova on Tuesday night before playing host to No. 17 Connecticut on Sunday afternoon. To purchase tickets, visit RedStormTix.com.