(PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. JOHN’S ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – VINCENT DUSOVIC/BRENDAN WILLISCH)
An effort that St. John’s needed to keep a potential Wednesday night off its Big East Tournament vocabulary may have come to fruition, as the Red Storm (11-7, 3-4 Big East) ran the Seton Hall Pirates (12-6, 3-5 Big East) out of Walsh Gymnasium by a score of 84-63 on Monday night.
Complete 40 minutes is what most St. John’s fans had been hoping for much of the season but turned out in full force on the university’s campus on Monday.
Following the Red Storm loss on Saturday to Seton Hall inside Madison Square Garden with a short Pirates bench, many critics went on to write off the Johnnies, including myself. If you can’t beat a Pirates team without its sixth man in Bryce Aiken and a team shooting roughly 33% from the floor in the game? There’s no hope.
Mike Anderson shut us up with his first quadrant one win in its seventh try.
From start to finish, the Red Storm attacked early, pressed the entire game, and even changed his starting lineup to include Aaron Wheeler instead of reigning Defensive Player and Freshman of the Year Posh Alexander. The latter would be coming off the bench for the second time this season, with the first coming against DePaul.
The Johnnies led by as much as 21 points throughout the first half and eventually down the stretch. But the Pirates would make multiple attempts to carve out its deficit, with a 10-0 run off the likes of Jamir Harris, Jared Rhoden, and Myles Cale. The once quiet Walsh Gymnasium became a harsh environment again, following the deficit dwindling to as little as eight later on.
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹!
Jamir Harris from WAY downtown and it's a 10-0 run for @SetonHallMBB. Get to FS1! pic.twitter.com/Nk879lPORL
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) January 25, 2022
St. John’s had other ideas for the Pirates, as Anderson would clear the bench with the likes of Hofstra transfer Tareq Coburn, who would sink home a pair of treys in the first half to extend its lead even further.
Six minutes into the second half, the Johnnies put the game on ice as Rutgers transfer Montez Mathis sank home five straight points off a deep three to make it 60-47, then a steal by Mathis off a turnover from Kadary Richmond allowed the Mathis to slam one home and quiet down the on-campus gym.
Freshman O’mar Stanley got involved off an inbound, where he drove through a pair of near-translucent defenders on the left side of the lane to extend the Johnnies lead to an 8-0 run. The pressure was on from St. John’s the entire night; that star forward, Julian Champagnie, didn’t have to contribute much for his team to win. With just Champagnie’s second basket of the night coming from just in front of his bench, Champagnie knocked down a three-pointer that turned out to be the dagger.
The Johnnies’ bench finished with a season-high 41 points, compared to 25 for Seton Hall.
The defense and full-court press was on-point so much that after the triple from Champagnie, the Red Storm would trap Seton Hall for a 10-second backcourt violation that would force Kevin Willard to burn his third timeout at the time.
It didn’t matter about Champagnie’s lack of offensive effort, as he tallied just five points in 2-of-10 shooting from the floor but instead contributed by grabbing eight boards, five assists, and swatted away four in 32 minutes on the floor.
Every player who entered the game for St. John’s, which happened to be all ten scholarship players available, secured at least one basket in the game.
Seton Hall would go on to record one of its worst performances of the season by shooting a whopping 19-for-62 from the floor (31%) while giving up 32-of-73 from the floor, and a massive 42 points in the paint to St. John’s, which as most know, isn’t its strong suit.
St. John’s held their opponent’s point guard to just three points in 0-for-8 from the field. This is where Pirates head coach Kevin Willard and company were missing their secondary ball mover in graduate Bryce Aiken, who is ailing from a concussion (doubtful heading into the No. 22 Marquette contest on Wednesday night). The Johnnies could press hard enough for the Pirates having difficulty with their half-court offense.
The Red Storm forced 20 turnovers, becoming a new season-high for Seton Hall. In addition, the Johnnies won the battle on the boards by out-rebounding the Pirates and the length they are known for by a +6 margin, 49-43.
𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗻@StJohnsBBall x #BIGEASThoops pic.twitter.com/td6CeqRacj
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) January 25, 2022
Purdue transfer Aaron Wheeler tallied his best game on the scoresheet as a Johnnie and as a collegiate student-athlete, as he set a career-high with 17 points and ten rebounds. Wheeler added three assists for the cause as well.
St. John’s road gets a bit funkier as they have six days to figure out the puzzle called No. 14 Villanova inside their home, Finneran Pavillion, on Saturday, January 29. for a 4:30 p.m. start on FOX. For Seton Hall, the Pirates will welcome No. 22 Marquette inside the Prudential Center on Wednesday, January 26, beginning at 8:30 p.m. on FS1.
