St. John’s rolls over Sacred Heart: Rapid Reaction

Joel Soriano posted fourth double-double of season as St. John’s easily defeated Sacred Heart. (Photo by Vincent Dusovic/St. John’s Athletics)

By Jason Dimaio (@JasonDimaio1)

NEW YORK — St. John's dominated Sacred Heart Wednesday, 85-50, rattling off its fourth win in a row to move to 6-2 on the season.

The decisive victory was led by none other than Joel Soriano, who posted 18 points and 13 rebounds in the winning effort. Despite not playing the final seven minutes of regulation due to the comfortable winning margin, the senior still notched his fourth double-double of the young season. Jordan Dingle also stepped up, contributing 17 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting.

“I not only thought he was great tonight, but I thought he was highly intelligent with his ball faking,” head coach Rick Pitino said of Soriano. “He didn't panic. He’s 7-of-8 now from the 3-point line, he makes his free throws and his game is starting to match the person he is.”

While the game was never in doubt, one flaw that has remained a constant for the Johnnies are the turnovers. The Red Storm committed 16 miscues tonight, a number it must cut down as Big East Conference play beckons in another two weeks. Simeon Wilcher and Brady Dunlap got an extended look tonight, with each playing 15 and 12 minutes, respectively, in the longest efforts to date of their young careers.

“They didn't play great tonight,” Pitino cautioned, “but the more time we get Simeon, the better he'll perform. Brady was sick tonight, but he fought through that and played.”

Arguably the most important part of the win tonight for St. John’s was the performance of its backcourt. Dingle and Daniss Jenkins combined Wednesday to amass 30 points and nine rebounds after what has been rather inconsistent play at the position from two of the team's veterans. Pitino raved about the cohesiveness of the two following the game.

“I think you see with Jordan, you see he is passing the ball well,” he said. “His defense has improved since Charleston, they just need to form this bond where they need to look for each other.”

St. John's looks to extend its win streak on Sunday, when the Red Storm takes on Boston College at Barclays Center. Tipoff for the neutral-site contest is slated for 4:30 p.m.