The same issues – namely, the half-court offense – that plagued the Red Storm in its loss to BYU popped up in the first 15 minutes, but this time, the Johnnies were able to settle down en route to an 89-66 rout of Stony Brook at Carnesecca Arena Sunday afternoon.
Despite a clunky start offensively, St. John’s (4-1) eventually found its rhythm, finishing the first half on a 20-2 run, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Marcellus Earlington, while grabbing the final eight rebounds of the half. With an emphasis on finishing – especially against inferior opponents – the Red Storm defense continued to pressure throughout the second half, forcing 29 Stony Brook turnovers in the contest.
Here are my five takeaways from the win:
Havoc in the half-court
With Big East play less than a week away, St. John’s needs to decide what kind of team it wants to be in its half-court sets. While the Red Storm is primarily a run-and-gun transition team, that’s not an option for every possession, meaning it needs more consistency in that aspect, especially early in games.
After settling for jumpers away from the basket early on, St. John’s was able to establish much more of a rhythm with more off-ball motion and the manufacturing of paint touches to open up shooting lanes, a trend that needs to continue as the schedule improves.
Career day for Greg Williams Jr.
I think it’s safe to say that Julian Champagnie will be the go-to scorer for St. John’s this season, but teams can’t have success with one guy. The best option to be that No. 2 scorer for the Red Storm appears to be guard Greg Williams, Jr., and he was every bit of that on Sunday.
The junior scored a career-best 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from the 3-point line. His confidence continuing to rise will provide much-needed consistency for the Red Storm offense.
Another spark off the bench
Not much was made of point guard John McGriff entering this season, but Sunday’s game was an impressive coming-out party for the redshirt freshman.
McGriff – who missed all of last year with a shoulder injury – came off the bench for Posh Alexander late in the first half and helped spark the game-changing run for the Red Storm.
McGriff finished with five points, three rebounds and four assists, and while his role will likely be diminished with the return of senior Rasheem Dunn, it’s good for coach Mike Anderson to know he has another option in the backcourt, should he need it.
That’s Moore like it
After a rough go in his last two games, Isaih Moore showed some of what made him a junior college All-American last year. Moore filled the stat sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, and seemed to play with much more poise than he has in the last two games, doing much better when he lets the game come to him.
Twin killings
It’s a good time to be a Champagnie.
St. John’s forward Julian continued his hot start with 16 points against Stony Brook, while his twin, Justin, put up 22 points and 10 rebounds for Pittsburgh in an 89-59 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday.
Next up
St. John’s will be back at Carnesecca Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to face Rider after having to postpone its scheduled contest against Fordham.
The tilt will be the final game of the non-conference slate, at St. John’s will head to Gampel Pavilion to welcome UConn back to the Big East at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Red Storm hopes to have Dunn back for that contest. The senior has missed the last four games in the concussion protocol, and Anderson did not have an estimate on when he would return to the floor after the game Sunday.
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