Seton Hall 88, St. John’s 66: Rapid Red Storm Reaction

Joel Soriano battled, but St. John’s was no match for Seton Hall Saturday. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Dimaio (@JasonDimaio1)

NEWARK, N.J. — If the panic and urgency hasn't already set in for St. John's, it most certainly has now.

After what seemed to be a carbon copy of the Red Storm’s performance ten days ago at Villanova, St. John's fell to 11-5 and 1-3 in Big East play after an 88-66 waxing at Seton Hall, giving Pirates head coach Shaheen Holloway his first conference win of the season and extending the St. John’s losing streak to three.

After a strong start on the road against an electric Seton Hall crowd where St. John's seemed to be bringing over the energetic, in-your-face play it showed during the last ten minutes of Wednesday's loss to Xavier, Mike Anderson shook up the lineup, having Andre Curbelo and David Jones come of the bench, and it seemed the adjustment was working, as the Johnnies went up by an 18-8 margin early and did whatever they wanted against a Seton Hall team trying to figure out who it was up against.

Much like Villanova, the Pirates made adjustments with 10 minutes to go in the opening stanza, locking in defensively and forcing St. John's into a half-court game in which the offense for the Johnnies went dry in the process. What had been a 10-point lead quickly evaporated into a 42-37 deficit at halftime as Kadary Richmond iced the first half by hitting a three at the buzzer. Momentum was fully on the Pirates’ side and they didn't look back. 

When adversity knocks St. John's down, the Red Storm has been unable to get up, something Anderson said needs to change. 

“We'll go down eight points and have some bad possessions and quick shots,” he reiterated. “We haven't handled adversity well at all.”

Joel Soriano was having a feast, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds, but nobody else could get anything going against a Seton Hall team that outscored the Red Storm by a 46-29 margin after halftime. Posh Alexander's struggles continued, as the junior finished with just two points on a mere 1-of-6 shooting from the field. The plan was simple for Seton Hall: Let Soriano get his, but make life miserable for everyone else.

“I didn't do a good job of getting our guys prepared,” Anderson remarked. “I take responsibility for today.”

For a fan base that has already started making its qualms with the coach known, that is the last thing it wants to hear. Lack of preparation cannot happen on any night in the Big East, and most certainly not for a team that just four games into Big East play, already has its back against the wall.

If St. John's wants to turn this around, it needs to get a win against a red-hot Marquette team Tuesday at Carnesecca Arena to get this season going in the right direction, otherwise things might be getting much worse before they get better.

Sha Sounds Off: St. John’s

On how Seton Hall responded:

“I thought we came out with a better sense of urgency after the timeout. I didn’t like the way we came out in the beginning of the game. I thought we came out with a better sense of urgency after the timeout in the second half. We just have to understand we have to play like that all the time, like our back is against the wall every time in this league.”

On getting up for local games:

“That’s a question you gotta ask them. I’m up and I try to get them ready for every game. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, it doesn’t matter if it’s local or it’s not, I’m fired up and wired every game. We’ve just gotta do it, we gotta be more consistent with it.”

On Tyrese Samuel:

“I thought Tyrese, he battled. That’s all I ask for him to do is battle. I thought he battled. That kid Soriano’s pretty good, he’s really big. I thought Rese battled him, and that’s all I could ask for. It was good to see him get back on track, battle down there and play the way he played. I’m asking a lot of him, and I think he’s up to the task.”

On contributions from multiple players:

“It was good. This league, there's a reason why it’s the best league in the country to me. This league is tough, you gotta play like that every night. It can’t just be some nights, it can’t just be against local teams, we gotta do it every single day we step on the court. I thought the difference for us was — and I want to tell all the fans: Thank you for coming out and spending New Year’s Eve with us. I thought that was a big difference. I thought they were loud, I thought they were into it, our guys feed off it. We just gotta continue it.”

On Seton Hall’s depth and camaraderie:

“We showed a lot of flashes, right? We just gotta play together like I said, we gotta be more consistent. I think if we’re consistent, things like this happen. I tell these guys this all the time, it starts in practice. You can’t win today’s game today. You gotta win today’s game yesterday and then the day before. And that’s the same thing moving forward with Creighton. Tomorrow, we gotta win, and then Monday, we gotta win. We can’t win when we just step on the court. Teams in this league are way too good.”

On Seton Hall’s help defense:

“I thought today, and I’ve been wanting to do this all year, our two was really good for us. Not having a lot of time to practice before it has been tough, but it’s a weapon and I want to use it. I thought today, we got them standing around a little bit, we played our 2-2-1 and they were standing around kind of trying to figure it out. And you’re right, our weak side help and our back defense was really good. It was a conscious effort to make sure Soriano didn’t go off, even though he had 23 points. I thought it wasn’t like he was demanding and dominating us like Providence did and Xavier did with their big guys. A lot of his stuff was off putbacks or whatever, but we just gotta play like this all the time. I think that’s the frustration that I have because we show it, but we’ve gotta do it more.”

On Al-Amir Dawes:

“Al is a rhythm player. He made a couple of shots early, his rhythm was there, but like I said, I need Al to be more aggressive going to the basket. Obviously he shot the ball well, and we need him to shoot the ball well, but we need him to do other things. We need him to create more, and be more of a playmaker because he has that in him. It can’t just be Kadary. I want him and Femi, and Kadary, to be on the court all the time as three playmakers. And once they start clicking and gelling, I think that’s when we can take the next step, but we just gotta continue to get there.”

On defensive adjustments:

“I just thought we mixed it up a little bit with our two and we kind of got them standing around. They were trying to figure it out and they were having a hard time figuring it out, plus I thought that we didn’t let them get a lot of offensive rebounds, it was kind of one-and-done. I thought that was the biggest thing, and also, we got some transition points. We haven’t really been doing that. We got some transition points and we’re scoring off our defense. I want to keep the game like that. I thought we played good defense against Providence even though they had 71, even on the road against Xavier, I thought we played solid defense, and it’s hard to keep teams in this league under 60 points.”

On not getting a technical foul when appealing to referee Pat Driscoll:

“I don’t think I deserved it. I was fighting for my team, I thought there were some calls that were missed, and Pat’s been around for a long time. He gets it.”

On Seton Hall’s 17-2 run bridging the two halves:

“I thought it was good for us, right? If you look at the Marquette game, we came back in the first half and then we gave up that big three at the end, and that big three at the end that we gave up led to the second half. I thought in this game, we got some stops down the stretch in the first half and it carried over.”

On Seton Hall’s 17 assists:

“That’s great. I love to see us having more assists than turnovers. If we could do that more often and go 15-for-20 from the free throw line, I think we could win a lot of games.”

Stags scorch nets, roll past Marist in 2022 finale

TJ Long drives inside for two of game-high 25 points as Fairfield toppled Marist in return to MAAC play. (Photo by Olivia Frzop/Fairfield Athletics)

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Through a start that saw losses in six of its first eight games, Fairfield was in need of a confidence boost and a chance to get itself right going into Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.

And in its last chance to do so in 2022, Jay Young’s roster closed out the calendar year on the highway if possible notes.

Using Young’s defensive blueprint to fuel their offense, the Stags’ viselike grip on Marist through the final nine minutes of the first half and opening five minutes after the intermission, and the sensational shooting of TJ Long, triggered a 24-4 run that bridged the two stanzas and provided Fairfield all the separation it would need in a 73-54 takedown of the Red Foxes Friday inside Mahoney Arena.

“I was proud of the way we defended tonight, more than anything,” Young remarked as the Stags captured their fourth victory in their last five contests. “The shots went in, which is great to see, but from start to finish for the most part, I was kind of proud of our defense. We really created some easy baskets for ourselves with our defense, so that was good to see.”

“It was good to see our offense get going a little bit. We’ve been struggling, and I know TJ’s happy to make some shots. We’ve just been telling all those guys, ‘keep shooting.’ Tonight, he did.”

For Long, whose 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting and five 3-pointers contributed to a long-desired breakout game, the explosion felt almost like the removal of an albatross that had weighed on him through the majority of non-conference play.

“It feels good, finally,” Long proclaimed. “The first month, month-and-a-half was rough, but I came in and just tried to bring some energy, I got a few easy baskets off the defensive end first, and then the threes just started going down. My teammates found me in good spots, and I was able to hit some shots tonight.”

His coach, who has always held Long out to be more of a scorer than a shooter, found relief in his sophomore guard’s outing as well, but in a different form.

“The good thing is I won’t get a text tonight from someone about why the guards aren’t making any shots,” Young quipped.

Fairfield (6-7, 2-1 MAAC) opened the game chasing Marist, as the Red Foxes’ efficient shooting and willingness to attack the basket with freshman point guard Isaiah Brickner and senior big man Patrick Gardner contributed to a seven-point lead for the visitors. But the deft touch and ball movement fell off in the midst of the Stags’ stifling defense, prompting John Dunne to chalk up the experience to growing pains and a lesson the veteran coach can use as a teaching moment for a young team later this season.

“I thought we had good control of the game early,” he admitted. “They picked up their intensity and their pressure, and our offense kind of fell apart a little bit. We gave them a lot of life off our bad offense and their good defense, and the second half, they were just the better team tonight. We have to learn how to have poise through the high-intensity moments.”

“We were a little deflated at halftime and we were only down four points. You should have really good spirit in that moment, and we didn’t. Just having poise under pressure is really the big key. It’s a learning curve for all of us.”

Fairfield will also be no stranger to pressure to open 2023, as the Stags welcome a Siena team onto its campus looking for a Connecticut sweep following Friday’s win over Quinnipiac, as well as a 3-0 start to league play, something Young already cautioned as to its side effects.

“You know this league,” Young said of MAAC play. “It’s 18 root canals we’ve got starting tonight, and we’ve already had two. Every game’s gonna be a fistfight, every game is a war. This league is brutal, brutal on your health, brutal on everything else. We know we’re going to get a good Siena team that’s very well-prepared, and we’re going to have to play well to beat them.”

Latest Johnnies result shows all-access look at sad truths within program

Mike Anderson (second from left) has left much to be desired from coaching aspect through first two months of St. John’s season as Red Storm has crisis brewing. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW YORK — How many times must we tell the tale?

How many times must we fall?

St. John’s, and by extension, its fan base, has spent most of the past four decades — and the last 22 years — living in the lost memory of being a local powerhouse relevant on the national landscape, still without a victory in the NCAA Tournament since the final year of Bill Clinton’s presidency, recalled every time the false sense of security and glimmer of hope sets in on the corner of Union and Utopia.

Mike Anderson has spent the past three-and-a-half years working on the sound of the Red Storm’s band of hardwood maestros. He and his staff have tried, on many an occasion, to get the on-court music right. But more often than not in recent times, it feels as though two go out working while three stay home at night when it relates to the Johnnies’ travails on the floor at Carnesecca Arena, Madison Square Garden, or anywhere in between.

The latest performance, a Wednesday night home tilt against a resurgent Xavier team boasting a Top 25 ranking to match its Top 25 offense in year one of Sean Miller’s second stint in Cincinnati, offered those watching at home a look behind the scenes and into the inner sanctum of the program, in a sense, by way of Fox Sports’ annual all-access telecast in which both head coaches sport microphones and the cameras follow coach and players alike into huddles, locker rooms, and anywhere else that occupies notable space on game night. And what the nationally televised audience saw was Anderson exposed at every corner, overmatched in his in-game tactics, dead wrong in his assessment of the opposition, and at the controls of a team that looked like a ship without a rudder in the majority of its timeout huddles during a contest that will go down in the record books as an 84-79 victory for the Musketeers whose final score was much closer than — and by no means indicative of — what the actual game proceedings let on.

Following up a disastrous loss at Villanova in which St. John’s 11-point lead on the Wildcats disappeared almost instantly during a 17-2 run to end the first half, a stretch in which Anderson declined to call a timeout, the embattled coach watched his team give up 16 unanswered points to Xavier’s free-wheeling, high-octane offense. From there, the Musketeers got clean and efficient shots almost at will, whether it was through the two-way play of Jack Nunge and Zach Freemantle, or the bulldog mentality from point guard Souley Boum. Only after a 14-2 run midway through the second half in which St. John’s pared an 18-point gap to just six did it appear that the game was actually attainable, but by then, it was too little, too late for a team that — more often than not, and most times through the fault of Anderson not putting his players in the proper positions to close games out against tougher opponents — has been unable to get out of its own way this season, even in the face of one of the softest non-conference schedules in the nation.

Suddenly, situations have changed and St. John’s is not who it used to think it is.

How strange.

“We kind of dug ourselves a hole in the first half,” Anderson said in a Captain Obvious moment during his postgame press conference. “I thought the extra effort plays went in (Xavier’s) favor in the first half. I thought in the second half, we were much, much better. Let’s give them credit. We didn’t play great, but I thought we fought to the bitter end.”

“I thought we came out with great, great energy. We missed a lot of shots, and I thought they had a lot of great second effort plays. You’ve got to be able to make shots, knock shots down.”

Outside of the first four minutes, before a media timeout interrupted Xavier’s 16-0 spurt, Anderson could have been granted the benefit of the doubt. After that? The deluge was in full effect as the Musketeers broke St. John’s pressure at will, and Boum — whom the embattled Red Storm coach openly said in his halftime speech would “no way” play another full 20-minute half — went the distance and in the process, made Mike Anderson look like Mike Francesa by comparison with yet another blast gone horribly wrong before he was saved from getting lost in alibis by the valiant, belated rally from a Johnnies team led by David Jones and Joel Soriano while Andre Curbelo, Montez Mathis and Posh Alexander — the latter of whom continuing to regress beyond the mean in this, his junior campaign — were, once again, nowhere to be found.

“We want to bottle it up for 40 minutes,” Anderson said of the furious fight down the stretch. “We’ve seen this all year long where we play a half where we really get after it, or 30 minutes. Now, in conference play, teams are a little bit more familiar with you and you’ve got to be able to make the subtle adjustment in the game.”

“These guys have been through the rigors of Big East basketball before. They know what it takes. Now, we’ve just got to be able to go out and apply it.”

Evidently, Anderson was either addressing a coach other than himself, or simply pretending, like he knew the plan. St. John’s fans, who have spent the last quarter-century clamoring for a consistent winner, know better.

Red Storm fans have stopped pretending about how they feel with regard to the current state of affairs in Queens, and rightfully so. Some have even stopped pretending their love for the Johnnies is real, at least with the current regime that is headed for the same end as the bulk of leaders trusted with the reins of the once-proud program Lou Carnesecca walked away from when he announced his retirement 30 years ago; a school that continues to bill itself as New York’s College Team but now is being upstaged in recent years by smaller institutions such as Iona, with more NCAA Tournament trips in the last decade than St. John’s has made this century, and who boasts a legendary head coach in Rick Pitino who is being looked to with wistful eyes and wanton gazes by the longtime king of the college basketball area in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the glaring errors in practice and management for decades can be fixed.

Until then, as Anderson proved again Wednesday, sadness can — and will — prevail. And with an all-access look at the current situation being broadcast to a nationwide audience Wednesday, everybody now knows how love can fail.

MAAC Monday: Season-to-date reviews, stat leaders, power rankings

MAAC Monday returns for the holidays to catch everyone up on the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference season to date with brief team capsules in the opening segment for each of the 11 MAAC members as conference play resumes for good on Friday with five league games spread out across the penultimate day of 2022. From there, individual stat leaders are reprised before the final set of power rankings for the calendar year is unveiled. Team capsules are presented in the order in which each school was picked in October's preseason coaches’ poll, starting with the first-place selection:

Iona: Outside of an uncharacteristic mishap against SMU where the Gaels lost a second-half lead, the preseason MAAC favorite has performed up to par with the high expectations laid upon it from the start of the offseason. Even more impressive is how Iona has developed ahead of schedule with a much younger roster for which Rick Pitino deliberately scheduled lightly in November, so that his vaunted player development sessions could have a much greater effect. The evolution of Walter Clayton, Jr. into a potential player of the year in the MAAC has been something to behold, and Daniss Jenkins has looked on multiple occasions as though he could have commanded a Pitino backcourt at Kentucky or Louisville. Each of Iona’s freshmen has produced in low-leverage situations thus far, and the Gaels’ authoritative takedown of Saint Louis on December 6 served notice that not only is there a clear MAAC favorite in New Rochelle, but a potential mid-major darling come March.

Manhattan: More than enough pieces have been written about the tumultuous start to the season in Riverdale, so that will not be spoken about here. What will be mentioned is how RaShawn Stores has kept the core of the Jaspers together and gotten it to a 2-0 MAAC start that has been largely swept under the rug for various reasons. Sooner or later, there will be no denying that Manhattan is a fundamentally sound team that competes on a nightly basis, and a team that could place itself among the top half of the league as long as it handles its business.

Rider: Kevin Baggett has overseen a late-blooming Broncs cast this year, a roster that lost four of its first five — including a heartbreaker at Providence in its season opener — before the familiar confines of Alumni Gym sparked a resurgence with wins in four of Rider’s last five contests and the arrival of Allen Betrand as the third piece to a scoring punch headlined by Dwight Murray, Jr. and his fellow Georgia native, Mervin James. The trio has made up for the quiet season Allen Powell has had to date, while the return of Tyrel Bladen and addition of Tariq Ingraham has gone a long way toward solidifying the 

Broncs’ front line, which was carried almost solely by Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson last year.

Quinnipiac: After an opening-night win at Rhode Island to ignite a 7-0 start, the Bobcats were the darling of the MAAC as it looked like Baker Dunleavy had put together his most talented team even in the face of depth issues that have forced him to play only 10 men. Quinnipiac has hit the skids in recent weeks, dropping four of six and both of its first two conference games, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. From the reemergence of Luis Kortright at point guard, allowing Dezi Jones to play off the ball, and the interior tandem of newcomers Ike Nweke and Paul Otieno, Dunleavy has perhaps his deepest roster from a skill standpoint to offset the thin number, and that still does not account for program stalwarts Matt Balanc, Tymu Chenery, Savion Lewis, JJ Riggins and Tyrese Williams.

“It gives us a good ceiling in terms of our guard play,” Dunleavy said of the interchangeable nature of Kortright and Jones as floor generals. “But it doesn’t guarantee anything. You still have to execute. It starts on the defensive end, just being able to consistently get a couple more stops, being a little bit more connected offensively, and then having more body movement and ball movement when we’re at our best. The highs are better than I thought they would be and the lows are right where I thought they’d be, so I think it’s more about our consistency.”

Fairfield: Jay Young has admitted there are several parts of the Stags’ defense — the calling card of the former Steve Pikiell assistant since arriving in 2019 — that he needs to shore up, a major reason why Fairfield has just begun to hit its best stride after a sluggish November and inconsistent December. The addition of Caleb Fields has given Young a competent ball handler who has been able to create opportunities for his teammates, and Supreme Cook has emerged as one of the MAAC’s best big men. Still, the outside shooting — a discipline in which Jake Wojcik and TJ Long excelled last year — has been noticeably lacking, to the tune of a 27 percent clip that has left Young shaking his head at how to remedy it.

“We’re getting shots,” he told Daly Dose Of Hoops’ Pete Janny following a December 14 loss to Yale. “We have guys who just haven’t hit them this year for whatever reason. We’ve just not gotten consistent play from our backcourt, and it’s frustrating.”

Siena: The Saints’ showing in Orlando — where Carmen Maciariello’s unit got its head coach the first two wins of his career against Power 6 opponents when Florida State and Seton Hall fell victim to Siena in the ESPN Events Invitational — established them as the top contender to Iona going into the second half of the year. Javian McCollum has taken the leap many expected from him as a sophomore, and a healthy Andrew Platek has only bolstered the Saints’ 3-point shooting, an area that struggled at times last season. If the defense of Jared Billups can progress to where the guard remains an underrated complement to Jackson Stormo, Siena could prove to be a matchup nightmare for the majority of the league.

Marist: The Red Foxes stood at .500 three weeks ago, yet have now dropped three straight — including both of their MAAC openers against Manhattan and Rider — to set up a pivotal battle on the road Friday against a Fairfield team coming into its own. John Dunne’s non-conference schedule came under fire from some for not being challenging enough, but with a retooling Marist team, what it has done is allow Dunne to take advantage of 6-foot-11 graduate transfer Patrick Gardner’s dominance as a rim protector and brute force in the paint. Already ranking in the top five in the MAAC in both scoring and rebounding, the Long Islander may go down as Dunne’s best big man over his 17-year head coaching career.

Niagara: The Purple Eagles are winners of three of their last four heading into a weekend homestand against Mount St. Mary’s and Rider that should undoubtedly give better clarity as to the potential of a group featuring 10 new pieces that head coach Greg Paulus was adamant about wanting to develop during the non-conference season. The emergence of Aaron Gray in his first Division I campaign, along with the resurgence of Sam Iorio, has given Niagara a stable frontcourt to offset one of its major question marks entering the year. In the backcourt, Noah Thomasson has had the senior season many felt he would, becoming one of the premier scoring guards in the MAAC.

Saint Peter’s: A non-conference finale loss to Maryland aside, Bashir Mason's Peacocks are re-entering the MAAC schedule with positive momentum on the heels of two wins in mid-December, the latter over upstart Quinnipiac. Saint Peter’s has fought off the injury bug in recent weeks, forcing the already defensive-minded Mason to adjust his tactics and employ a smaller, more physical lineup that has allowed fifth-year senior Isiah Dasher to emerge as the breakout leader of last year’s Cinderella.

“He’s being challenged to be different this year,” Mason said of Dasher, his fellow Jersey City native. “I’m watching him legit just grow up right in front of my eyes and embrace everything we’re talking about, so I’m excited for him.” 

“With everything we’ve got going on right now, this is how we’ve got to grind games out,” Mason added after his team closed its 63-56 win over Quinnipiac on December 18 by scoring eight of the game’s final nine points after the Bobcats tied the score at 55 in the waning moments of regulation. “It’s slow progress, but these guys are growing up right in front of me. They’re showing me that we’ve got some grit, we’ve got some toughness. It’s on me and our staff to coach these guys and just be positive as we still gain our identity.”

Mount St. Mary’s: The Mountaineers return to MAAC play looking to reverse their fortunes after losing four of five following a 15-point win over Saint Peter’s in The Mount’s conference opener. However, each of the setbacks came by single digits, and Dan Engelstad’s team was without the services of Jalen Benjamin and Dakota Leffew for a portion of that stretch, so it is certainly not inconceivable to suggest that the results could have gone The Mount’s way with a full contingent. Spending the new year in Buffalo will be a tall order for the new kid in town, but the opportunities to climb back toward the top of the standings are plentiful in the early part of the league campaign.

Canisius: Since alternating losses and wins over their first four games, the Golden Griffins have dropped seven straight following a November 20 win over Division III Fredonia, and have been somewhat mercurial over the past month, staying in games as they did against Siena, Toledo and Florida Gulf Coast; but have simultaneously been routed against the likes of Buffalo, Iona and Penn State. Freshman point guard Tahj Staveskie has been a breath of fresh air as a third scorer alongside the experienced hands of Jordan Henderson and Jamir Moultrie, but on the whole, the Griffs have yet to take the next step collectively.

“I think it’s a maturity thing,” head coach Reggie Witherspoon said following Canisius’ December 4 loss at Iona. “We’ve had times where we’ve been able to deal with what the other teams’ desires are. I think our team learns how hard you have to play and what you have to do when you’re met with a resistance from your opponent.”

Scoring Leaders

1) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (19.3 PPG)

2) Patrick Gardner, Marist (17.4)

3) Javian McCollum, Siena (17.3)

4) Noah Thomasson, Niagara (17.0)

5) Daniss Jenkins, Iona (16.5)

6) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (15.9)

7) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (15.5)

8) Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s (15.0)

9) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (14.8)

10) Jordan Henderson, Canisius (13.6)

Rebounding Leaders

1) Supreme Cook, Fairfield (8.4 RPG)

2) Patrick Gardner, Marist (7.6)

3) Malik Jefferson, Mount St. Mary’s (7.5)

4) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (7.4)

5) Ike Nweke, Quinnipiac (6.7)

6) Latrell Reid, Saint Peter’s (6.6)

7) Mervin James, Rider (6.5)

8) Paul Otieno, Quinnipiac (6.5)

9) Jared Billups, Siena (6.4)

10) Sam Iorio, Niagara (6.1)

Assist Leaders

1) Daniss Jenkins, Iona (4.9 APG)

2) Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s (4.3)

3) Javian McCollum, Siena (4.3)

4) Latrell Reid, Saint Peter’s (4.2)

5) Luis Kortright, Quinnipiac (3.9)

6) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (3.8)

7) Noah Thomasson, Niagara (3.6)

8) Jaylen Murray, Saint Peter’s (3.2)

9) Savion Lewis, Quinnipiac (3.2)

T-10) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (3.0)

T-10) Tahj Staveskie, Canisius (3.0)

Field Goal Percentage Leaders

1) Corey Washington, Saint Peter’s (.763)

2) Berrick JeanLouis, Iona (.588)

3) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (.584)

4) Jacco Fritz, Canisius (.569)

5) Supreme Cook, Fairfield (.567)

6) Malik Jefferson, Mount St. Mary’s (.565)

7) Jackson Stormo, Siena (.557)

8) Sam Iorio, Niagara (.524)

9) Ike Nweke, Quinnipiac (.523)

10) Marques Watson, Manhattan (.494)

Free Throw Percentage Leaders

1) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (.978)

2) Mervin James, Rider (.889)

3) Javian McCollum, Siena (.875)

4) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (.809)

5) Caleb Fields, Fairfield (.806)

T-6) Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s (.795)

T-6) Jackson Stormo, Siena (.795)

8) Jared Billups, Siena (.761)

9) Isiah Dasher, Saint Peter’s (.740)

10) Daniss Jenkins, Iona (.734)

3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders

1) Jaylen Murray, Saint Peter’s (.500)

2) Andrew Platek, Siena (.475)

3) Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider (.451)

4) Allen Betrand, Rider (.444)

5) Bryce Moore, Niagara (.429)

6) Siem Uijtendaal, Canisius (.423)

7) Jamir Moultrie, Canisius (.419)

8) Jalen Benjamin, Mount St. Mary’s (.418)

9) Daniss Jenkins, Iona (.404)

10) Dezi Jones, Quinnipiac (.400)

Steal Leaders

1) Anthony Nelson, Manhattan (2.3 SPG)

2) Luis Kortright, Quinnipiac (1.8)

3) Latrell Reid, Saint Peter’s (1.6)

4) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (1.5)

5) Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona (1.5)

Blocked Shot Leaders

1) Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona (1.6 BPG)

T-2) Stephane Ingo, Marist (1.6)

T-2) Jackson Stormo, Siena (1.6)

4) Osborn Shema, Iona (1.3)

5) Berrick JeanLouis, Iona (1.3)

Power Rankings

1) Iona (9-4, 2-0 MAAC)

Last Game: Sunday 12/25 vs. Pepperdine (W 76-66)

Next Game: Sunday 1/1 vs. Saint Peter’s, 4 p.m.

2) Siena (7-5, 1-0 MAAC)

Last Game: Thursday 12/22 at American (W 64-61)

Next Game: Friday 12/30 at Quinnipiac, 4 p.m.

3) Rider (5-5, 2-0 MAAC)

Last Game: Thursday 12/22 vs. Marist (W 77-71)

Next Game: Wednesday 12/28 at Georgia, 7 p.m.

4) Quinnipiac (9-4, 0-2 MAAC)

Last Game: Thursday 12/22 at Penn State (L 77-68)

Next Game: Friday 12/30 vs. Siena, 4 p.m.

5) Manhattan (4-7, 2-0 MAAC)

Last Game: Monday 12/19 at Marist (W 80-69)

Next Game: Friday 12/30 at Saint Peter’s, 2 p.m.

6) Niagara (6-5, 1-1 MAAC)

Last Game: Wednesday 12/21 vs. Binghamton (W 73-67)

Next Game: Friday 12/30 vs. Mount St. Mary’s, 7 p.m.

7) Fairfield (5-7, 1-1 MAAC)

Last Game: Sunday 12/18 vs. Coast Guard (W 86-45)

Next Game: Friday 12/30 vs. Marist, 7 p.m.

8) Mount St. Mary’s (5-8, 1-1 MAAC)

Last Game: Wednesday 12/21 at Howard (L 63-62)

Next Game: Friday 12/30 at Niagara, 7 p.m.

9) Saint Peter’s (6-6, 1-2 MAAC)

Last Game: Thursday 12/22 at Maryland (L 75-45)

Next Game: Friday 12/30 vs. Manhattan, 2 p.m.

10) Marist (4-7, 0-2 MAAC)

Last Game: Thursday 12/22 at Rider (L 77-71)

Next Game: Friday 12/30 at Fairfield, 7 p.m.

11) Canisius (2-9, 0-2 MAAC)

Last Game: Wednesday 12/21 at Florida Gulf Coast (L 84-81)

Next Game: Friday 12/30 vs. Rider, 7 p.m.

Villanova 78, St. John’s 63: Rapid Reaction

By Jason Dimaio (@JasonDimaio1)

VILLANOVA, Pa. —  Coming into today, St. John’s had a lot to prove to the college basketball world despite having an 11-1 record. 

To the dismay of the Red Storm faithful, tonight didn’t help its cause for credibility or enhance a lackluster resume with a win it can fall back on if the Johnnies want their name called on Selection Sunday, after a 78-63 thumping against Villanova at Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday.

St. John’s (11-2, 1-1 Big East) came out swinging to start this game. Making five shots beyond the arc in the first half, the Johnnies found themselves up 31-20 with ten minutes remaining in the opening stanza and had The Finn sounding like a library. Freshman AJ Storr seemed to be on pace for his breakout game, hitting his first three shots of the game, two of which came from the 3-point line and the St. John’s bench was in a frenzy.

“It took time for us to feel them out,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune stated. “Not many teams play like they do. You can't practice for them.”

After Storr went to the bench with eight minutes to go in the half, the roof caved in on St. John’s and the Red Storm was never able to recover. The offense went completely dry as the Johnnies couldn’t hit any shots they put up. Rushed 3-pointers early in the shot clock, contested and forced layups all paved the way for Villanova to take a 17-2 run to end the half and go up by four, 35-31, at the break.

As the second half got underway, St. John’s was able to recapture the magic. Poor shot selection continued, Joel Soriano was a non-factor and Posh Alexander seemed lost at times. What was once a silent crowd turned into a madhouse as Brandon Slater hit a 3-point shot to put Villanova up 56-41, effectively icing a game and the Wildcats ended the game on a 60-34 run over the final 26:16.

Storr, who was the best player on the floor for the Johnnies, didn’t check back in until the game was far out of reach, Sophomore Rafael Pinzon did not get check into the game at any point.

“He was tired,” Anderson explained when asked about the extended absence of Storr.

St. John’s had a chance to earn some credibility with a win against a Villanova team still finding its own way, but the doubts and criticism that this team has faced all season will continue to linger until proven otherwise, as the Red Storm has yet to earn a Quad 1 or 2 win approaching the new year. The Johnnies have a week off before Xavier comes to Carnesecca Arena on December 28, an opportunity to finally get a win it can feel good about.

St. John’s return to Big East play also a return of recurring issues as Johnnies lose to Villanova

St. John’s 11-point lead disappeared late in first half as Red Storm lost to Villanova, yet Mike Anderson tried to remain positive addressing where Johnnies go from here. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

— Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”

As St. John’s returned to Big East Conference play Wednesday, it found itself in another part of the world against perennial league kingpin Villanova to start the game. The Red Storm came into Finneran Pavilion and, behind the hot early hands of Montez Mathis and AJ Storr, took smart, efficient shots and forced the Wildcats into uncharacteristic turnovers in the opening stanza, building a 29-18 lead with less than six minutes to play before the intermission as the Johnnies were cruising behind the wheel of a large automobile.

After that, however? A flurry of rushed shots, missed layups, and a physical Villanova team that made adjustments to the Red Storm’s helter-skelter style contributed to a 17-2 run that flipped the script on a potential upset and gave the Wildcats all the momentum in the world in a building where they have only lost twice since the Big East assumed its current form in 2013. Anderson watched, not calling a timeout until most of the damage was done, a telling sign as St. John’s (11-2, 1-1 Big East) was outscored by a commanding 60-34 margin over the final 26:16 of a 78-63 loss that was deflating in every sense of the word.

And you may ask yourself: Well, how did I get here?

“First and foremost, congratulate Villanova,” Anderson began. “I thought they did what they were supposed to do, they took care of their home court. It was one of those nights where we didn’t shoot the ball well. When you don’t shoot it well, you could see the results of it. We got off to a pretty good start, they made their run, and I thought we were in good shape being only four down (at halftime). It seemed like we came out in the second half and continued to dig a hole. But one thing our guys didn’t do was they didn’t stop playing. But we’ll learn from it, we’ll get better.”

While the Red Storm did not stop playing, it seemed as though the efficiency certainly did. Mathis, whose early stroke helped build the aforementioned 11-point lead, finished 3-of-11 from the floor, as did Andre Curbelo. Posh Alexander was no better, only mustering a 3-for-12 line. Storr, whose 15 points arrived on a 6-of-9 effort, played only seven minutes in the first half, but was nowhere to be found during the game-changing run Villanova went on, leaving St. John’s to perform at a ghastly minus-13 clip without the talented freshman on the floor.

“He was tired,” Anderson conceded, somewhat half-heartedly. “The guy had been out there for a while. He was tired.”

Tired could also describe the state of a St. John’s fan base still clamoring for a winner, yet beyond agitated with enduring the same cycle whenever even the slightest glimmer of hope presents itself only to be extinguished at the mere drop of a hat. Anderson tried to put a positive spin on what amounted to a tale of two halves, yet glossed over the fact that — yet again — his team was out-toughed for a fair majority of the contest.

“I thought we just kept them out of their sweet spots,” he said of the Red Storm’s first-half defense of Villanova. “I thought we were just keeping them out of the lane, but in the second half, they did a good job of getting in there and making some tough shots. Even the last three makes, we played defense with the shot clock burning down. I thought we had the ball moving, we had guys stepping up and making shots. We didn’t make them in the second half, and that was a big difference. We missed a lot of layups. You’ve got to be able to finish. I just don’t think we matched their physicality for the 40 minutes of the game.”

Of Alexander and Curbelo, he acknowledged that they had a tough night against the Wildcat backcourt before placing the blame on a general inability to execute.

“They’ve got to be better,” Anderson lamented. “Conference play, whether we play at home or on the road, they’ve got to be better. Consistency is the thing in this game here. Sometimes, a little impatience takes place and I think that’s what took place. We were right there within striking distance, I think it was like a 12-point game, and we came down and we shot three quick shots. We’ve been much better at that in terms of understanding, but we did not do a good job of that. Give Villanova some of the credit for that as well with their defense. I think our decision making, at times, was not where it should be.”

“We’ve got to be better, I think that’s the bottom line. I think we’re a much better team than we put on display tonight. I think the tempo was to their liking, but at the same time, we had a lot of shots that we missed. You’ve got to have the extra effort.”

Same as it ever was.

Saint Peter’s vs. Quinnipiac Photo Gallery

Photos from Saint Peter’s 63-56 win over Quinnipiac on December 18, 2022:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)