Quinnipiac holds on for third straight win, hands Merrimack first MAAC loss

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

HAMDEN, Conn. — Not many people really knew what to expect from Merrimack during year one in the MAAC. Losing star guard Jordan Derkack in the portal to Rutgers, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to say the Warriors wouldn’t make much noise while adjusting to a new league. 

Well, all they’ve done is start league play a perfect 5-0 heading into Thursday’s clash with Quinnipiac in Hamden. With point guard Budd Clark returning after a stellar freshman season in the NEC, Merrimack has been a legit force in the MAAC through the first three weeks of conference play.

“They did a great job in making the transition from the Northeast Conference and now to (the MAAC),” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora said. “(Joe Gallo) is obviously a good coach and it’s going to be a challenge every time you take the floor against them.”

That perfect start came to an end, however.

Quinnipiac defended its home court and became the first MAAC team to knock off Merrimack this season, squeezing out an 81-76 win to become the second team in the conference to get to the six-win plateau, joining Marist. The Red Foxes handed the Bobcats their lone MAAC loss to this point, on January 5 in Poughkeepsie.

“That’s what we call in the business a rock fight,” Pecora said on the win. “As you know, we’re without Savion (Lewis). It's like playing a halfback at quarterback.”

As Pecora alluded to, the Bobcats were shorthanded in Thursday’s win, as veteran floor general Savion Lewis missed his second straight game with what the team is calling a lower body injury. In his place, Khaden Bennett and Ryan Mabrey stepped up in the ball handling department.

Not having Lewis also meant someone was going to have to step up and try to limit the Clark and his near-20 points per game. Bennett drew that assignment off the opening tip and held him scoreless for the first eight minutes or so. That allowed the Bobcats to expand their lead early in the game and jump out in front.

While Clark was limited by Bennett for the first handful of minutes, he still was able to have a great night. He finished with a team-high 20 points, along with seven rebounds and nine assists, and used his small stature to his advantage by hitting tough layups.

“We knew he was gonna get his,” Bobcat wing Amarri Monroe said of Clark. “He’s a great player. Kudos to him.”

The story of the game was the play of the Bobcat frontcourt. Paul Otieno and Monroe each had double-doubles—22 and 13 for Otieno and 21 and 11 for Monroe—and led a ferocious attack on the glass for Quinnipiac, who outrebounded Merrimack, 45-25. Most of the Bobcats’ 15 offensive boards came in timely spots, including a pair of big ones from Alexis Reyes.

“Amarri and Paul didn’t have their best games, but even on nights where they don’t play great, they’re going and getting 11 and 13 rebounds,” Pecora said. “Lex Reyes was the third guy we gave the gloves to for his 10-rebound performance.”

“Me and Paul compete for rebounds all the time,” Monroe said. “I see he’s right near the top of the country in double-doubles. I want to be right behind him.”

Merrimack has had great success all year long with its full-court press that drops into a 2-3 zone. Being without Lewis, it looked like it could be a challenge to limit turnovers for the Bobcats. For the first 35 minutes, Bennett, Reyes and Mabrey did a good job getting the ball into the halfcourt, but once the Warriors ticked up their pressure, chaos ensued.

“We did a good job taking care of the basketball until the last four minutes,” Pecora said. “We’ve got to get better at that and be more patient, but it's hard when you're accustomed to having your point guard being the key to everything you do in those kinds of situations.”

Once down as many as 17 points, Merrimack cut its deficit to as little as three, thanks to consistent pressure that forced some silly turnovers for the Bobcats over the last four minutes. Reyes, who stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, 10 rebounds and five assists, had a team-high six turnovers and made some crucial errors over this stretch.

“I was scared at the end, really,” Otieno said. “We were up 12 and they cut it down to a one-possession game.”

Fortunately for the Bobcats, they were able to escape with a five-point win to move to 6-1 in MAAC play with a matchup on the road against Mount St. Mary’s on the horizon. Even with this hot start in the league, the players in the locker room at Quinnipiac realize you can’t look too far ahead into the future.

“(You have to) focus on one-game winning streaks,” Monroe said. “Prepare for every week like it’s the last game of the season, follow the game plan and don’t worry about who’s next, worry about the team who’s coming up and not who’s after that.”

The Bobcats will look for another of those one-game winning streaks Saturday against The Mount, once again without the services of Lewis, per Pecora. 

“Savion probably won’t play again over the weekend,” Pecora said. “Let’s look big picture here. Let’s look long-term and get him healthy.”

Tipoff for Saturday’s game is set for 4 p.m. at Knott Arena.

Johnson takes it to another level in extra time as Winthrop outlasts Charleston Southern

 

Winthrop guard Nick Johnson scored 17 points in extra time to help the Eagles fend off Charleston Southern Wednesday night.  (Photo:  Winthrop Athletics/Professional Photography Group)

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – Of all the people to ever walk into Charleston Southern’s Buc Dome, one would be hard-pressed to find one who hates to lose as much as Saah Nimley. He was a fierce, constant competitor as a player and is every bit the same as a coach.

To know that is to realize how striking it was to see Nimley in the hall outside the Charleston Southern locker room Wednesday night. The Bucs had just fallen, 102-97, to Winthrop in a three-overtime battle that seemed as if it would never end. Nimley stood against the wall, looking equal parts drained and heartbroken. His voice was faint. When he spoke, though, his words were unmistakable.

“I thought it was a heck of an effort by our guys,” Nimley said. “I thought they did everything right, and being super short-handed, they made every effort to win this game. Some days, the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.  They made two spur-of-the-moment threes when they needed it. Sometimes, the ball bounces that way. We’ve got to trust that it’s going to bounce our way soon.”

Charleston Southern (5-14, 1-3 Big South) was, to be sure, challenged. The Bucs dressed eight players, with seven of those players logging 21 or more minutes. Two played over 50, with another nearing that total. Three Bucs fouled out, leaving them with just five available players at the final horn. Two more had four fouls. Nimley spoke after the game almost as if the situation were a positive.

“We’ve got some experience in this. We went through the same thing last year,” Nimley said. “The reality is that we just play. We don’t take down our level of physicality. We don’t take down – we make some adjustments on who’s guarding who, but nothing changes. We go out there and play, and what happens happens. It’s next man up.”

On the other side, there was Winthrop. The Eagles clawed, scratched, and – though arguably Pyrrhic – found victory. Winthrop (13-7, 3-2) trailed by three with 30 seconds left in regulation, only for Bryce Baker to hit a three to tie it. Isaiah Wilson made a free throw late in the first overtime that only allowed RJ Johnson to tie it for Charleston Southern on the other end and force a second extra period. In the second overtime, the Bucs seemed to all but finish in the win column after a Johnson layup, only for the Eagles’ Nick Johnson to can a triple on the other end and force another period.

“The shot that Bryce made at the end of regulation, the shot that Nick made – whenever the heck that was, in one of those overtimes – to keep us alive are just huge basketball plays,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said after the game.  “When things aren’t going well and you have to overcome a lot – there was a lot to overcome tonight, and there’s only so much I can say about that – I felt like we had to overcome a lot, and I felt like our kids – it was a resilient win. Good teams do that, and I hope we’re building toward that.”

Nick Johnson and Prosser shared Nimley’s look – in a way – after the game. They wore a smile, though almost out of relief. Their bodies and minds were clearly drained.

“I was convinced that we’d still be playing as that thing went on,” Prosser said, his voice showing clear signs of fatigue. “The dudes that played left it all out there. It’s going to be like this all the time. That’s just life in this league. It’s so talented and so well-coached.”

Johnson led Winthrop’s four double-digit scorers, pouring in 28. Interestingly, though, he outscored every Eagle in just the three overtimes, as he tallied 17 in the three extra periods. Only Kasen Harrison’s 18-point total was higher.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it – we have so many people that can contribute in such large ways,” Johnson said. “People forget about the shot Bryce hit at the end of regulation, since we went into three overtimes. That was a huge shot. Kasen was cramping and still found a way to help us out at the end. We know how big people like K.J. (Doucet) and KT (Kelton Talford) are. As they go, we go.”

“He’s a warrior,” Prosser said of Johnson. “He’s built up to that. He’s a really good basketball player. He’s an all-league caliber player. He shows that. He’s shown it in huge moments.”

There’s more of the story on Harrison, Doucet, and Talford to tell. First, though, we need to address Johnson’s overtime effort.

“It was all will,” Johnson said. “It was not Xs-and-O’s. It was just all will. At that point, it’s who wants it more. Charleston Southern’s a great team, they have a lot of really good players, they’re gritty, and they’re resilient too. They fought us to the very end. We knew it was going to be tough coming in here, and we just found a way to will it out at the end.”

While Johnson spoke, Harrison was feet away. He didn’t wear a headset or field questions from the media. Instead, he stood at the free throw line nearest the Winthrop locker room, taking free throws. He got the ball back after it was rebounded, then did it again. He then moved to the other free throw line and repeated the process.

Doucet and Talford missed time, as Johnson referenced.  First, the story of Talford. The fifth-year senior was hit in the face at some point during the game – Prosser was unsure after the game whether it was a play that was actually reviewed for a possible flagrant foul or during another sequence – and played just eight minutes. Talford has played fewer than eight minutes just twice in his career – both six-minute outings in 2021. No update was provided on his status after the game.

Doucet – along with Charleston Southern all-conference performer Taje’ Kelly and seemingly everybody else in the building – was part of the parade to the bench following disqualification for fouls. Doucet played just 25 of the 55 minutes contested Wednesday night. Kelly logged just 38 minutes before being disqualified, booking a 22-point, 16-board double-double. Nimley never flinched when describing Kelly.

“(He means) everything,” Nimley said. “He understands who we are. He’s our longest-tenured player. It’s crazy that people don’t speak (more) of him, because he’s by far the best player in this league. That’s just the truth. You ask any coach (in this league) when they prepare for him and they prepare for other guys how that preparation looks, and it looks like you’re preparing for the best player in the league. He walks into your gym, he gets his 25-and-10, and he walks out of your gym. I’m sure you’ll respect him when he walks out.”

Johnson – RJ, in CSU’s case – also paced his Bucs. The star guard booked 30 points in almost 48 minutes, carrying the load for much of the time Kelly was off the floor. Guard Daylen Berry also had a big night while playing the most minutes of any player, tallying 23 points in over 53 minutes of game time. The Bucs scored 24 second-chance points while hauling in a dizzying 60 boards.

Doucet scored 15 while snaring three caroms for the Eagles. Freshman guard Paul Jones continued his hot play of late, finishing with 13 points and three boards of his own before fouling out. The Eagles shot 53 percent during the extra sessions, while finishing at 47 percent on the game. The sides combined to try 90 free throws after 66 total fouls were assessed.

It’s perhaps most appropriate to let Prosser sum up what everyone in the building felt, as he verbalized what his face – and voice – had already revealed.

“I feel like I played,” Prosser said. “I’m exhausted. I need to go to bed.”

Both teams return to play Saturday afternoon. Charleston Southern returns home to the Buc Dome to face Radford in Big South play, while Winthrop travels to rival UNC Asheville. Both games are slated to tip at 2:00 (Eastern), with ESPN+ offering streaming coverage for both.

WINTHROP 102, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 97 (3OT)

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (5-14, 1-3 BIG SOUTH)

Kelly 5-15 12-16 22, Olalere 0-1 1-2 1, Oden 1-5 6-7 8, Berry 8-17 5-6 23, Johnson 9-21 9-14 30, Jones 0-2 5-6 5, Gause 3-12 2-2 8, Camara 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-73 40-53 97.

WINTHROP (13-7, 3-2)

Talford 2-2 0-1 4, Jolly 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 5-13 0-0 13, Johnson 8-20 11-16 28, Harrison 8-18 2-6 18, Doucet 6-9 2-5 15, Baker 3-6 1-2 9, Wilson 2-3 1-2 5, Hamilton 1-3 0-0 2, Diallo 1-3 2-2 4, Duncomb 1-2 2-3 4. Totals 37-79 21-37 102.

Halftime:  Winthrop 38-34. 3-Point goals:  Winthrop 7-21 (Jones 3-9, Johnson 1-4, Harrison 0-1, Doucet 1-2, Baker 2-4, Wilson 0-1), Charleston Southern 5-26 (Kelly 0-1, Oden 0-4, Berry 2-6, Johnson 3-6, Gause 0-7). Fouled out:  Kelly (CSU), Olalere (CSU), Jones (CSU), Jones (WU), Doucet (WU), Hamilton (WU).  Rebounds:  Charleston Southern 60 (Kelly 16), Winthrop 48 (Hamilton 6). Total fouls:  Winthrop 36, Charleston Southern 30. Technicals:  NA

Points off turnovers:  Winthrop 18, Charleston Southern 12.  Points in the paint:  Winthrop 54, Charleston Southern 42. Second-chance points:  Charleston Southern 24, Winthrop 7.  Fast-break points:  Winthrop 19, Charleston Southern 7.  Bench points:  Winthrop 39, Charleston Southern 13.

 

 

Spirit and value of winning now imbued in St. John’s as resilient Johnnies knock off Georgetown in Big East game with throwback feel

Kadary Richmond (1) drives past Georgetown’s Malik Mack as St. John’s comes back from 14 points down to defeat Hoyas Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. (Photo by St. John’s Athletics)

NEW YORK — The significant uptick in performance of a Rick Pitino team from its first year to its second is so profoundly time-tested that one of his current players acknowledged it.

Following St. John’s win over Villanova this past Saturday, RJ Luis—fresh off a 30-point, 10-rebound masterpiece that night—acknowledged both the black-and-white win improvements as well as the analytical climbs that his coach has engineered at every stop in his own career.

Three days later, the Red Storm, down 14 points early in the second half against a scrappy Georgetown team, added to the numbers. St. John’s used a 17-2 run shortly after halftime to negate that deficit, then after the Hoyas had retaken the lead, fired right back with a 10-2 spurt to seize it again for good. It was as if the Johnnies cared not about the final margin or the number of points on the board, merely looking to satisfy one objective.

“The second year is understanding the desire to win, how important it is winning,” Pitino expounded after his roster sealed a 63-58 victory in a game that harkened back to the battles that brought the Big East to college basketball’s forefront. “At the end of last year, we were a great basketball team, I thought we were a Top 10 team in the nation last year, but it takes time to make winning so important to you. And (Tuesday), winning was more important than any individual achievement because nobody played well. Nobody played well, but that’s the message of the second year, that winning matters more than anything else.”

“Some nights, if you don’t have it and you can still win, the word that sticks out more than anything is fortitude. You have the fortitude to win the game, and they made big plays. They all had the fortitude. They refused to lose the game. I always say this: Players can make coaches look good or players can make coaches look bad, and they’re making us as a coaching staff look good.”

Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley, irked by his team’s blown lead in the Hoyas’ third consecutive loss, opened a fiery postgame press conference by lauding St. John’s, and sending a message to those who have not ranked the Red Storm among the Top 25, a room the Johnnies will almost assuredly enter next week as long as they can beat Seton Hall on Saturday.

“For St. John’s not to be ranked, first and foremost, let’s talk about that,” Cooley began. “I don’t know who some of these voters are, I don’t know who has a vote, but you’re blind. Wake up, you’re blind. That’s one of the best teams we’ve played all year, I don’t know if there’s a close second. This team is really, really good. They have some dynamite players, they defend at an elite level, they try to speed you up, very, very good. So for everybody that’s behind that iron mic that has a vote, wake your ass up.”

Speaking of waking up, one player who did that Tuesday was Kadary Richmond. Pressed into primary point guard duty as Deivon Smith sat out while he rehabs a shoulder contusion, the Seton Hall transfer imposed his will on the game is his usual quietly dominant fashion. Richmond scored only 10 points, but logged eight of St. John’s 13 assists as he continues to adjust from being the alpha across the Hudson last season to being a talented piece that furthers a much more intricate puzzle in the Big Apple.

“We all know what the big goal is, to get on Broadway,” he said Tuesday. “That’s the message preached every day, so just having that will when we go out there—down 10, down however much—just come back and win, keep playing hard and stay together. We just have the desire to win, the will to win, and I feel like that’s a big thing here.”

“He’s a little underappreciated,” Pitino said of his fifth-year senior. “He owns up to every mistake he makes, every mistake. He’s just got a superb attitude. If he gets beat back door, he says, ‘my fault’ right away, and he’s got a great will to win. It wasn’t our best night, it wasn’t a Rembrandt, but they have a strong desire to win. And as a coach, I can’t appreciate anything more than that.”

After its latest second-half comeback, St. John’s has now outscored opposing teams over the final 20 minutes by 170 points, second only to Duke among Power 5 programs. The timely surges in games have only underscored the win-at-all-cost mentality among the Red Storm, which has made its 15-3 record and 6-1 start to Big East play all the more impressive.

“We all want to win,” sophomore guard Simeon Wilcher declared. “When we have a collective of guys who just want to win and will do whatever just to win, a lot of great things can happen. We just used what we’ve been working on all year and put it into fruition, to be honest.”

“Being in New York City and playing well and winning, you kind of get the whole New York City to back you, and that’s kind of what’s happening right now. We’re extremely excited for the rest of the season just to see what we could do. I feel like we have a really tough and really talented group of guys, and I feel like throughout the rest of the year, we’re just gonna continue to get better.”

Rutgers finally has its win to build on. Now, where do Scarlet Knights go from here?

Rutgers snapped skid of four losses in five games with Monday’s win over UCLA, perhaps a sign of resurgence to come for Scarlet Knights. (Photo by Rutgers Athletics)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — After his Purdue team walked into Jersey Mike’s Arena and comfortably defeated a Rutgers squad that had given it several fits in the past few years, Matt Painter offered a refreshing perspective on the issues plaguing the Scarlet Knights this season.

Despite the all-world talent of a pair of players in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, both of whom will likely hear their names announced by NBA commissioner Adam Silver within the first hour of the NBA Draft this coming June, Rutgers stood 8-8 following a 68-50 loss to the Boilermakers. To further diagnose the new difficulties in building a culture in a fluid college basketball landscape, Gannett New Jersey reporter Jerry Carino asked Painter what the hardest part of creating something at this level was. The Purdue coach, a longtime assistant to Gene Keady who assumed the reins following a one-year layover at Southern Illinois another year of apprenticeship in West Lafayette, offered a very thoughtful answer.

“You just need to get a win, more than anything,” Painter assessed. “You gotta build on something, right? I always say this after practices: I always feel like we can beat anybody in the country or we can’t beat anybody. I never feel in between. You just gotta get a win, and then when you do that, you gotta build on that and try to get the next one and build confidence from there.”

“It’s the landscape. It’s not something that any of us created, but here it is. You’ve got people leaving, going in the draft, getting hurt, whatever it is, and then you’ve got new guys and you’re trying to build with all new guys. And it’s really hard because what Rutgers has always had is a great defensive foundation, and then what (Steve Pikiell) got from Coach (Jim) Calhoun was that toughness, that nastiness, that ability to rebound, and now you don’t have the buildup as much. So what I think a lot of people are doing, besides just getting really talented guys is finding those guys in the portal that have those winning qualities, because you don’t have the time to instill it. You get them in the summer, you get them in the fall, and then you might lose them in the spring, right? It’s like dating in eighth grade. Everything’s changing, everything’s going a million miles an hour.”

Four days later, Rutgers was able to right the ship, catching a slumping UCLA team at an opportune time Monday to post a 75-68 home victory. With three of the Scarlet Knights’ next four games on the road—and the one home game against Michigan State (January 25) being played at Madison Square Garden—the win was of greater significance for a team Steve Pikiell said would ultimately get better with more repetitions.

“We just connected,” Pikiell said on a night where Rutgers got 20 points and 10 rebounds from Ace Bailey, while Dylan Harper showed no signs of being hampered by the flu that compromised him for the previous week, posting 18 points of his own. “We’ve shown signs of it. In this league, you’d better be connected for 40 (minutes), and I think we were connected for 40.”

“I think (it was) a much-needed win, especially after losing some games at home,” senior guard Jeremiah Williams added. “The vibe’s been down a little bit, and to capitalize and win the Rutgers basketball way—the way Coach Pikiell wants us (to)—I think it kind of alerts everyone else that’s in the program on how this program wants to play, how this program’s used to winning. It’s a step in the right direction.”

Rutgers’ next tests are by no means easy, starting Thursday at Nebraska and continuing Monday at Penn State. For a team that has won just ten Big Ten games away from Piscataway since 2021, the season is not lost, but the sense of urgency is clear.

“We’re just learning from our mistakes,” Harper said. “Even though (UCLA) threw the first punch, we recovered well. This gives us a lot of confidence, and I think we’ll stick with the same confidence and the same fight we’ve been swinging with. This win just really helps us out with team morale and just staying together.”

“Any win is going to help going forward,” Williams added. “I think the mindset we’re gonna keep is continue to improve in practice and continue to show up to games with energy, and try to use this game as a stepping stone.”

It should also be noted that Rutgers is no stranger to the situation it currently navigates, only one game over .500 and with its back almost against the wall. Pikiell has overseen similar circumstances in recent years that have resulted in NCAA Tournament berths. For now, though, the message is one game at a time, one win at a time, with Monday being the starting point.

“All we need is one win,” Bailey admitted. “We were 8-8, (now we) start over. We ain’t got too many wins, we ain’t got too many losses. There’s only one way you can go, you can go backwards or you can go forward. (Monday), we took that step forward.” 

Consistent effort for Quinnipiac pays off with come-from-behind win at Iona

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Quinnipiac may have won its most recent contest by 19 points Friday, but the manner in which the Bobcats finished their victory over Siena left something to be desired for Tom Pecora.

The veteran head coach lamented his team’s lack of a consistent effort, as Quinnipiac had led by as many as 31 points in the first half before conceding a late rally to the visiting Saints. Pecora’s main concern going into Sunday’s trip to Iona was whether or not the Bobcats could deliver a full 40-minute effort.

It may not have looked that way in the first half Sunday, but the preseason MAAC favorite never quit, and was rewarded with a road win as a result, with Quinnipiac’s persistence helping wipe out a 14-point deficit and earn a 63-62 decision over the Gaels.

“Look, they’ll tell you different, but I don’t freak out on them a ton,” Pecora said. “We try to keep our heads in the game, the way it’s played and the pace it’s played at. You’re gonna get back in games if you just stay composed, you know? The only way teams really totally get blown out of a jam is if you lose your composure and allow those double-digit, 10-point leads to become a 20-point lead. We didn’t do that. We stayed the course.”

“The big thing for us, at the half, we wanted to get it down to 10 and we got it to four. We have seven veterans out there, they’ve been through some battles and they don’t get rattled. That had a lot to do with it.”

The Bobcats (9-8, 5-1 MAAC) scored six of the game’s first eight points and coerced Iona head coach Tobin Anderson into a full line change less than two minutes into the contest as the Gaels’ starters had difficulty solving a 2-3 zone defense Pecora employed in the opening stages. Iona’s second unit turned the tables, though, uncorking a 20-3 run that had the visitors playing from behind for a majority of the day.

The early hole was not the only adversity the Bobcats had to battle through, as senior point guard Savion Lewis did not make the trip due to what Pecora termed a lower-body injury that surfaced Sunday morning. Lewis will be evaluated Monday, with no timetable on his return. In his stead, Khaden Bennett and Doug Young filled the void, the latter making his return to the rotation after not seeing the floor Friday. And after sitting him out against Siena, Pecora was convinced the junior college transfer would respond accordingly Sunday, which he did to the tune of 10 points off the bench, one of three double-digit Quinnipiac scorers.

“Doug always competes,” Pecora said. “It’s about decision making, it’s about all the little things, you know? He’s a senior, and I put a lot of pressure on our seniors to carry themselves like seniors…on the court, off the court and the way they practice every day. As hard as it is, you gotta love ’em all. I have three children and I love them all, but they’re different. You gotta be treated in different ways at times to get them on course.”

“The greatest motivator ever—I think Bob Knight said it years ago—is ass meets bench. And all of a sudden, you get their attention, and that’s why I knew after him not playing on Friday, he’d be locked in and he’ll do whatever we need him to do.”

Following a 12-3 close to the first half that produced a 37-33 margin at the intermission, Iona stormed out of the locker room with eight unanswered points to prompt Pecora to use a timeout. The Bobcats got right back to work, with the two-headed monster of Paul Otieno and Amarri Monroe setting the tone on both ends of the floor to produce a 15-2 run that swung the pendulum back the way of the visitors.

“My two tight ends here, they’re walking double-doubles,” Pecora said of Otieno and Monroe, who amassed 24 points and 18 rebounds combined. “Our guard play was interesting, at times it looked like dodgeball, but we just kept competing. It’s the greatest skill you could have, just keep coming out and competing every possession, and they did that.”

The two teams traded baskets for the next several minutes before Quinnipiac used one last outburst, a 10-4 stretch, to seize momentum for good behind Otieno, Monroe and freshman Jaden Zimmerman. Iona got to the precipice of stealing the win after Dejour Reaves rallied to pull the Gaels within one, and still had a chance to snatch the win in the final seconds after Otieno missed the front end of a 1-and-1. But Adam Njie’s runner at the buzzer cut through the air, and after taking their first league loss last Sunday at Marist, the Bobcats were able to rebound with a second straight win to keep pace near the top of the conference going into a crucial home tilt against MAAC co-leader Merrimack Thursday.

“The other term we use all the time is one-game winning streaks,” Pecora shared. “So we’ll take off tomorrow, get ourselves as healthy as we can, and go hard and get ready to play in a very competitive MAAC.”

St. John’s recapturing the magic with old-school work ethic and new resolve

Far from a finished product, Rick Pitino and St. John’s have already succeeded in rebuilding inroads by playing a style that has allowed fans of all ages to unite behind once-fractured program. (Photo by St. John’s Athletics)

NEW YORK — At his introductory press conference, now some 22 months ago, Rick Pitino spoke not only of what it would take to fully resurrect a long-dormant St. John’s program, but the manner in which he would do it.

In that first address, the veteran coach spoke of the subway alumni, St. John’s fans who did not necessarily attend the Queens institution, but adopted it as their own due to a shared connection of common values and a blue-collar image that embodied the city and its people. Pitino declared, almost reverently, that he would bring that long-starved group something to once again be proud of. At the same time, he imparted a message of excitement and hope to younger fans whose memory of the Johnnies’ halcyon days may not be as tangible.

Regardless of how long you’ve followed St. John’s, or how many emotional roller coaster tickets you’ve purchased, this much is certain: The Red Storm has retaken its core audience almost two years later, and appears to be committed for the long haul.

“I think we’re, physically and mentally, a very tough team,” Pitino remarked after Saturday’s win over a resurgent Villanova team who entered Madison Square Garden with a resounding win over two-time defending national champion UConn. “That’s why we’re winning. We’re defying a lot of analytics with victories. I think what’s amazing, and why the fans are turning out in droves, is how hard these guys work. I’m really, really impressed.”

At 14-3 on the year, and 5-1 within the Big East, St. John’s is just outside the Top 25, and would most likely be a Top 10 team if not for three losses by a grand total of just five points. The beauty of the Red Storm roster is such that almost anyone can step up and lead it with no astonishment, but junior swingman RJ Luis—now healthy after an injury-plagued sophomore campaign—has proven to be a cut above most of his competition.

“He’s physically stronger than what he was,” Pitino said of Luis, the UMass transfer whose professional prospects he has lauded since he officially signed with St. John’s out of the portal. He has, and this is a good thing, it’s not a selfish thing: He has an incredible desire to score. RJ’s a pro. I think somebody’s gonna get a player that’s going to get better and better and better. Scottie Pippen couldn’t shoot past seven feet when he got out of college. Guys like Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns couldn’t shoot a lick, and they all become great 3-point shooters. RJ’s decent, but just imagine him as a pro. He’s gonna be a great pro. Somebody’s gonna get a hell of a basketball player.”

Luis backed up his coach’s plaudits Saturday with 30 points and 10 rebounds, becoming just the fifth player in program history to record such a performance. And in a local landscape where most of the area’s attention has been fixated on Rutgers’ potent freshman pairing of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, it is Luis who has held his own, and at times, been not just better than the two rookies, but more valuable to his own side.

“I’ve said this all along: RJ’s one of the most gifted players I’ve coached,” Pitino reiterated. “He just refused to not rebound the ball with the game on the line like, five different times (Saturday). His toughness was incredible, he got to the floor before everybody. I can’t say enough accolades about RJ because his hustle was amazing to me.”

Luis’ hustle was not the only takeaway of the united, working-class culture St. John’s now embodies. The Red Storm faced a notable dose of adversity Saturday when Deivon Smith—the Johnnies’ explosive senior point guard—collided with Villanova’s Wooga Poplar and appeared to injure his shoulder. Pitino later insisted the shoulder was sore and not dislocated, but hinted that Smith may not play in Tuesday’s game against Georgetown. Still, there was a sense of urgency with which his teammates not only met the moment, but redefined it.

“Just knowing what kind of player he is and how important he is to the team, having him hurting kind of hurt all of us,” Simeon Wilcher recounted as he was tasked with filling the majority of what would have been Smith’s minutes. “But we knew that we had to step up. It’s kind of like a next man up. I’m not saying there’s anything specifically wrong with Deivon, but in order for us to win this game, it had to be like that. We felt it for sure when Deivon went down.”

Luis’ reaction to the response he spearheaded was more reflective of what has been built in such a short time, something that should not be lost in translation with how volatile and fluid the landscape of the sport is, and will be for the foreseeable future.

“It just shows what type of chemistry we have, how everybody has each other’s back,” he said. “If one goes down, the next one has to step up. It sucks, I saw (Smith) get hit, I think I saw his shoulder pop out a little bit. It’s scary when plays like that happen, because we don’t know what’s gonna happen. You saw him come back with his shoulder wrapped up, so that just shows how much heart he has, too.”

The heart across the board has manifested itself in a majority of games for St. John’s. Several times, the Red Storm has erased sluggish first halves with transcendent performances in the final 20 minutes, some others with timely spurts to overcome stretches where shots don’t fall. The warlike mentality the team has demonstrated on the boards has been an integral factor in building that aforementioned stamina.

“As a team collectively, we’re all crashing the boards,” Luis imparted. “Even if the shots aren’t falling—and you guys are gonna see on paper that our 3-point percentage is lacking—I think it’s scary because we’re winning these big games and we’re not shooting the ball well. So I feel like the sky’s the limit and we’ve just gotta keep playing hard as a group.”

“When (Luis) goes to get those rebounds and goes to the line with those 20 free throws, he’s getting killed,” Pitino added. “For him to dive on the floor like that and do the things he was doing was very impressive. You always want to start a program with an incredible work ethic, and they have it. That’s why the fans are coming out in droves.”

Pitino’s desire to build a culture from the jump was so pivotal to his business plan that he reshaped nearly the entire roster last season, and still managed to win 20 games and nearly make the NCAA Tournament. His second year has almost always seen the most marked improvement, which has made the enthusiasm and anticipation for this season as high as it stands. The coach has singled out several random fans throughout the season for highlighting their support, even if just to offer a simple “Go Johnnies” in passing. But brick by brick, one corner at a time, the concept of New York’s team that was championed by the Joe Lapchick and Lou Carnesecca squads of old seems to have returned.

“It’s really refreshing to see this,” a humble Pitino said. “This program’s been injured for a long time and we lost a big fan base, so one by one, we gotta just shake their hands and say, ‘join in.’”

With a likable and resilient team such as this one, it’s getting harder to ignore.

Merrimack moves to 5-0 in MAAC after stopping Manhattan

By Ray Curren (@currenrr)

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Merrimack coach Joe Gallo mentioned several times while playing a very difficult non-conference schedule that it would help his team later, despite finishing 3-8.

After fending off a game Manhattan team Sunday afternoon at Hammel Court, 69-62, the Warriors are back to .500 overall, but most importantly 5-0 in their inaugural season in the MAAC, and most certainly one of the favorites to win in March and make the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

Sunday’s game played out like so many others for Merrimack the last couple seasons. Manhattan coach John Gallagher clearly had his team prepared for the Warriors’ patented 2-3 zone and put together some very good possessions in the first half, with Will Sydnor and Wesley Robinson giving them fits with their high-low game. The Jaspers (7-8, 2-4 MAAC) also shot the ball well from deep, 8-for-18, with Devin Dinkins shooting 3-for-5.

Yet Manhattan is yet another team to finish below 1 point per possession against the infamous Merrimack zone, with 62 points in 64 possessions.

One look at the boxscore told Gallagher all he needed to know. His team had been excellent at keeping the ball, but turned it over 18 times (13 of them Merrimack steals) and only had 10 offensive rebounds, a solid 35.7 percent under normal circumstances, but as aggressive as Gallo’s zone is, it can sometimes be vulnerable on the defensive glass and Manhattan did not take advantage.

“You can’t have 18 turnovers, but you can’t have just 10 offensive rebounds against a team like this, you have to have 16 or more,” Gallagher said. “You have to dominate the glass, that’s what teams that have beaten them have done.”

Still, Manhattan jumped out to a 21-14 lead when Shaquil Bender—who, along with Jaden Winston, gave Budd Clark fits dribbling—got a steal and layup, forcing Gallo to call time with 9:49 left in the half. The Warriors (8-8, 5-0 MAAC) made a run without Clark on the court and finished a 14-2 move on a Tye Dorset three.

“I told the guys we’re getting everyone’s best shot now, we’re not sneaking up on anybody anymore,” Gallo said. “Manhattan did a great job picking up the physicality defensively. They did what we do, and turned us over into pick-sixes for themselves. We’ve gone like three games without being behind, so I was proud when we went down seven, they didn’t even blink.”

Merrimack led at halftime, 32-28, and business picked up after the break as some chaos ensued, exciting to watch the frantic action full of turnovers and rushed shots on both sides, but not really what either coach wanted.

“We had a couple breakdowns, but they made a couple of really tough shots,” Gallo said. “They banked a three in from the top of the key. It’s that old Brad Stevens thing from a while ago, we look at halftime and see which team got better shots, and I thought we got way better shots, and usually those things even out as long as you take care of the ball.”

The Warriors lead was nine with 13 minutes left, at 46-37, but after Bender and Jaden Winston stripped Malik Edmead on back-to-back possessions, it was 48-46 just two minutes later. A Robinson jumper got the Jaspers to 54-53 with 7:37 left, but Manhattan could never quite grab the lead.

“There were only 30 first-half possessions and then things got pretty loose,” Gallo said. “I don’t mind that. Because our scores are low, it’s a little bit of a misconception that we’re slow, but it just takes a long time to score off us (Merrimack is currently 351st nationally in time on defense, at 18.7 seconds per possession). We forced three shot clock violations. We wanted to push pace on offense, though, especially when we’re getting good looks.”

The final minutes belonged, as they often do, to Clark, who was a menace on the defensive end, but also found ways to score or get fouled late in the shot clock several times in the closing stages. Clark’s second consecutive contested layup put the Warriors up 67-58 with 2:03 left and the Jaspers were never going to be able to get enough points to come back from there.

“Budd is the ultimate closer, as he showed today,” Gallo said.

Still, there were positives from Gallagher (who missed Friday’s loss to Mount St. Mary’s with the flu), who hopes to get Fraser Roxburgh—out for the last four games—back soon. Robinson and Masiah Gilyard each had 14 points (Gilyard had seven of the 10 offensive rebounds) to lead Manhattan, while freshman Sydnor showed signs of being able to take over even if they weren’t consistent.

“I don’t care what defense you’re in or what offense you’re in, when you have a player like Budd Clark, it’s a big difference,” Gallagher said. “I thought we did a decent job on him, but he’s so good and so talented. They were 9-of-30 from three, I thought that was a good job by us. But my team has not had 18 turnovers since I don’t even know when. I don;t think we understand just how active their zone was, give them credit. They are good.”

Meanwhile, Merrimack faces a big test Thursday at preseason favorite Quinnipiac, who is just a half-game behind the Warriors after winning at Iona Sunday. Bryan Etumnu, whom Gallo said after the game has certainly paid his dues in North Andover, had a game-high 21 points, including a pair of alley-oop dunks, and three blocks. Etumnu also plays a pivotal role in the zone in the middle.

“I try to be the anchor in our zone,” Etumnu said. “I’m the one-on-one defender down there when it goes to the high post, so I have a big role, even though some people say I’m undersized and things like that. I take that criticism and try to get better.”

Clark’s offensive numbers weren’t great: 15 points, nine assists, seven turnovers, but he made the plays he had to and added three steals.

Obviously, the Warriors are probably not going 20-0 in the MAAC (KenPom gives them a 0.2 percent chance), but they believe they can win the league and their play has shown it.

CCSU can’t overcome slow start, drops second straight NEC home game

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — After falling at home for the first time this season on Friday against Wagner, Central Connecticut State lost its second straight game on Sunday when LIU came to Detrick Gymnasium and pulled off a narrow 54-52 victory.

“Gotta give LIU credit, they did a really good job,” head coach Patrick Sellers said. “They changed their defense in the second half of their game against Stonehill and started the game like that against us, and threw us out of rhythm, too.”

It was a very sloppy first half for both teams, a half that saw the visiting Sharks lead by eight at its conclusion, at 24-16. CCSU shot 5-for-25 as a team and only had three players make field goals. It wasn’t necessarily true that the Blue Devils were taking bad shots, they just weren’t falling.

“We got disjointed offensively and were missing many, I think, makeable shots,” Sellers said.

The lone bright spot in the scoring department for Central was Devin Haid. The junior guard scored 20 points, 15 in the second half, and hit the running triple that gave the Blue Devils their first lead of the second stanza.

“I was taking a lot of settled shots in the first half,” Haid said. “My coaches were telling me to attack the rim more and attack their players, so that’s what I did in the second half.”

In that second half, the level of shotmaking increased on both sides. Terell Strickland, son of LIU head coach Rod Strickland, and Malachi Davis stepped up their production for the Sharks, as well as freshman Shadrak Lasu. For Central, Haid hit some difficult shots and Max Frazier had a sequence where he blocked a shot on one end and had a putback dunk on the other.

“(The) second half was definitely a better effort for us offensively,” Sellers said. “Defensively, these guys really put their hard hats on and went to work.”

Jordan Jones was the only other player for Central in double figures. Many players finished well below their season averages, including just four points for Jayden Brown and a scoreless outing for Joe Ostrowsky. Even with a low scoring effort, the Blue Devils still showed great willingness to come back from down as many as nine points in the second half.

“We came out stronger in the second half and did what the coaches asked us to do,” Haid said. “We should have been ready to do that in the first half, and that’s what got us in that hole early.”

Things got quite interesting down the stretch. LIU had the ball with 40 seconds left up by two and CCSU chose not to foul, opting to go for the defensive stop. The Blue Devils ended up getting it after a missed jumper and had the ball with 12.1 seconds to play, needing to go the length of the court. On their first attempt, Jones had his tying layup attempt blocked out of bounds. The clock sat at 5.6 seconds and the Blue Devils had another chance. The inbounds pass was bobbled by Jones and turned over.

“They bottled us up in the corner and I don’t know if Jordan thought the clock was running out, but he kinda just stopped playing,” Sellers said. “Right away, we should have been fouling. Right away, we should have had a chance with at least three or four seconds left on the clock.”

Jones turned the ball over with over four seconds remaining, but the entire Blue Devils team froze like the game had ended and didn’t foul until 1.2 seconds were left. LIU wasn’t in the bonus yet, so all the Sharks did was pass the ball in and the game was over.

The loss, and weekend as a whole, was really a reality check for a CCSU program that was off to an historic start to the season. The Blue Devils were unbeaten at home before Friday and started league play 2-0, with wins on the road at Saint Francis and Mercyhurst. Now, they’re 2-2 and have two home losses on the ledger.

“We’re gonna have a really good film session on Tuesday,” Sellers said. “The film really helps us because the guys can see what’s going on and it helps us get into a faster mode. We have to move the ball and move faster.”

There’s still plenty of time left in the season for a team with NCAA tournament goals to overcome a rough weekend. Being two games back in the loss column of LIU isn’t ideal, especially having lost to the Sharks at home, but it isn’t time to hit the panic button quite yet in New Britain.

Up next for CCSU is a road clash with FDU in New Jersey. Tip is set for 4 p.m. Saturday at the Bogota Savings Bank Center in Hackensack.

Seton Hall handed first Big East loss by Creighton in heavyweight conference showdown

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — In a battle of unbeaten Big East teams Saturday, Creighton edged Seton Hall, 72-64. The Saturday afternoon game at Walsh Gymnasium saw the visiting Bluejays improve to 14-3 overall, and 6-0 in league play, while Seton Hall dropped to 12-4 and 4-1, respectively.

Points of emphasis:

Morgan Maly came up big: The 6-foot-1 senior led Creighton, and all scorers, with 23 points. Maly also

buried two three-pointers in the waning moments of regulation that both coach Jim Flanery of Creighton and Seton Hall’s Tony Bozzella agreed were daggers. Maly also had a vital contribution in the way she helped the Bluejays handle Seton Hall’s pressure.

“Morgan helped in the backcourt a great deal against the press,” Flanery said. “If you told me three or four years ago Morgan would have helped to break the press, I would have fallen over. That’s a testament to how far she’s come as a decision maker.”

For the game, Creighton had 11 turnovers, an

excellent 15 percent turnover rate. Seton Hall has forced opponents into at least 20 turnovers ten times this season. The Bluejays also led in points off turnovers, 14-9.

Another tough Big East matchup: “It was very

competitive, we ran out to lead and they made a run,” Flanery said.

Creighton led 39-27 at halftime. The Bluejays scored the first five points after the break to increase the difference to 17. The Pirates immediately responded with a 7-2 run. Creighton would respond by pushing the lead back to 10 early in the fourth period. Once again, the Pirates would respond, cutting the deficit to two with just over two minutes remaining. Maly would can her first of her two crucial threes from there as Creighton was able to close it out.

Seton Hall gave a valiant effort: “Without

(Savannah) Catalon, they were still difficult to guard,” Flanery praised. “(Faith) Masonius (Seton Hall’s leading scorer, with 18 points) just gave us fits inside.”

“Down two starters (Catalon and Shailyn Pinkney),”

Bozzella said, “we didn’t give up. You can’t turn the

ball over six times in the first period like we did.”

For the game, the Pirates were guilty of 12 turnovers, a still credible 15 percent turnover rate.

Bozzella was asked if there was a concentration on

Creighton’s three-point shooting. The Bluejays lead

the Big East with a 37 percent mark from three.

“Our goal coming in was getting the advantage in points in the paint,” Bozzella said. Seton Hall did just that, 38-34. “Unfortunately, we gave up some easy layups late in the second period.”

The last two conference games saw Seton Hall win

a pair of one-possession games. There was the 56-55 victory over Villanova on New Year’s Day, and most recently, an overtime victory last Saturday against Georgetown.

“We need these games,” Bozzella said. “Even our earlier wins over Providence and Butler were, for the most part, close games.” No excuses, but Bozzella said, “we’ve had injuries and setbacks we haven’t experienced the last few seasons.”

With still a good portion of conference play remaining, Bozzella promised, “if we do the things we are good at, we’ll be good.”

Honors: Faith Masonius was named Big East Player of the Week and one of five USBWA Players of the Week the previous Monday. On the same day, Jada Eads, an 11-point scorer against Creighton, was cited Big East Freshman of the Week for the third time this year.

Several options: The Bluejays showed how dangerous a team they are, given several different

options in the lineup.

“Molly (Mogensen, 18 points, six assists) was great, Flanery said. “Mogensen’s and Maly’s contributions were essential given the fact Lauren Jensen struggled. It didn’t feel like Lauren was in rhythm and she was kind of forcing some stuff.”

Jensen, a senior guard and Creighton’s leading scorer at 17.9 points per game, finished with nine points on 3-of-14 shooting from the floor.

“She gets a good defender every night,” Flanery added. “She needs to get her confidence back to where it should be.”

Style: Creighton’s offense features a series of on and off-ball screens, backdoor cuts and ball reversals. It reminds a number of observers of the Princeton offense. Flanery has no name for his very efficient offense, which measures a 106 efficiency good enough for 28th-best in the nation to date, but the coach did shed some light on it Saturday.

“We do a lot of shooting drills, moving shooting drills,” he said. “It’s less structured than people think. It’s not five-out or Princeton. It’s much simpler, we play positionless, we can just plug and play. I don’t have to say, ‘she’s our three and she’s our four, and we have only two fours.’ That’s not the case. I mean, it gives you a lot of flexibility.”

Notes: In a 69-possession contest, Creighton held a

104-93 edge in offensive efficiency. Creighton also shot 47 percent, including 36 percent (8-of-22) from three-point range. Seton Hall checked in at 38 percent with a 15 percent (3-for-20) performance

from long distance. The Pirates won the battle of the boards by a 39-34 count. Molly Mogensen of Creighton pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Faith Masonius, Yaya Lops and Kaydan Lawson had six each to pace Seton Hall. Masonius also handed out a team-high five assists.

Bluejays are road warriors: “Seven road wins this

season and we’re tied for the most road win in the

country over the last three years,” Flanery said. “We

play a lot of road games partly because we can’t get

buy games.”

Next up for Seton Hall is a visit to Marquette on

Wednesday. Creighton hosts DePaul next Saturday.