5 Takeaways: St. John’s unable to overcome slow start in loss to BYU

By Anthony E. Parelli (@reportedbytheAP)

For the third time in the first four games of the season, everything came down to the final minute for St. John’s.

 

For the first time, however, the Red Storm were unable to triumph, falling 74-68 to BYU in Bubbleville at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut on Wednesday.

 

Whatever it was that plagued BYU, who shot an abysmal 27.5 percent from the field in a loss to USC on Tuesday, must have rubbed off on St. John’s in the first half of Wednesday’s contest.

The Johnnies (3-1) mustered only four fast-break points and just a 29 percent field goal percentage through the first 20 minutes against BYU (4-1), a far cry from Monday’s 50-point first-half outburst against Boston College. Even so, the St. John’s defense did enough to trail by just six, 29-23, at the break.

 

For a brief moment, it looked like the Red Storm had corrected whatever ailed it early on. Julian Champagnie started the second half with a steal and an and-one, followed by a defensive stop and Isaih Moore slam for a quick 5-0 spurt. While St. John’s played well enough to stay close the rest of the way, it was never quite able to translate that momentum into any sustainable run. 

 

The Red Storm’s best opportunity came with 41 seconds left. After cutting the BYU lead to just four, Cougar guard Brandon Averette missed back-to-back free throws, but the Johnnies were unable to corral the rebound, eventually sending BYU back to the line.

 

Here are my five takeaways from the loss:

 

Identity crisis

While both Moore (11 points on 5-of-12 shooting) and Marcellus Earlington (four points, 2-of-8) have the ability to score, they’re much better suited as complementary pieces, rather than the primary targets. In the first half, seemingly wary to drive at the length of BYU, St. John’s settled too often for contested jump shots early in the shot clock from the two forwards.

 

While there’s no reason to think Moore won’t ultimately have a positive impact this season, Wednesday was a rough go for the former junior college All-American. After draining a 3-pointer on his first shot, Moore was way off target the rest of the way, finishing just 1-of-5 from deep. The 6-foot-10 forward also committed a costly goaltend and offensive foul penalties down the stretch for the Red Storm.

 

Going Cole-d

Through four games, it’s tough to tell which version of Vince Cole is the real one.

 

Is it the one that averaged 20 points, including a game-winner in the opener, through the first two games? Or it is the one that has scored just 12 combined points in the last two against a bump in competition? The reality is probably somewhere in the middle.

 

With the return of Champagnie, St. John’s doesn’t need to lean on Cole, but he’s too talented a scorer to finish with just four points like he did Wednesday.

 

Get well soon

Senior guard Rasheem Dunn missed his third-straight game in the concussion protocol, and while the play of Posh Alexander and Greg Williams, Jr. was able to mask his absence the last two contests, he was clearly missed Wednesday. Playing from behind for the majority of the game, St. John’s needed his veteran presence, as well as his ball handling and ability to finish around the rim.

 

Not going to cut it

BYU guard Alex Barcello gave the Red Storm fits all evening. The senior finished with a team-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 3-for-6 from deep.

 

While Barcello is an experienced and talented player, If St. John’s can’t slow a player like him, it’s going to have major issues with the backcourts of the Big East.

 

The good news

One loss isn’t the end of the world, especially with a mostly young group that hasn’t played together much missing an important piece.

 

The Red Storm showed it was able to overcome its dismal first-half shooting and stay in the game until the final seconds, largely due to another superstar performance out of Champagnie. The sophomore has shown quickly that Monday’s 29-point, 10-rebound game wasn’t an aberration, leading all scorers Wednesday with 25 points. Champagnie’s poise and touch from virtually everywhere on the floor (he was just 1-of-5 from 3-point range on a day where St. John’s shot just 19 percent from beyond the arc) gives Anderson the go-to scorer he so badly craved coming into the season.

 

Next up

St. John’s will return home to Carnesecca Arena with a chance to get right against Stony Brook Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m., with a Tuesday evening contest following against Rider. Tipoff for that game is slated for 7 p.m.