The final contest at Carnesecca Arena this season proved to be a mirror image of the first encounter between the two teams nineteen days before, with one team establishing control midway through the first half before the other battled back and stole the game down the stretch. Led by 23 points from D'Angelo Harrison and a career-high 18 from fellow freshman Amir Garrett, St. John's (12-16, 5-10) shook off DePaul's late rally and sent the Blue Demons (11-16, 2-13) to their seventh straight defeat in a 79-72 decision on the Queens campus. "It was a quick turnaround in 48 hours," assistant coach Mike Dunlap stated after the game, the second for the Red Storm in three days after defeating UCLA this past Saturday. "We took care of the ball … [Read more...]

Playing for the first time since a demoralizing 22-point defeat at the hands of Cincinnati, St. John's found themselves in a game they could have won. Unfortunately for them, they once again ran into a better team. Another afternoon of 20-point performances from D'Angelo Harrison (24 points) and Moe Harkless (20 points) was not enough for the Red Storm (10-15, 4-9) as they fell to 11th-ranked Georgetown (19-5, 9-4) by the final of 71-61. "We really took a step forward after our last two games," assistant coach Mike Dunlap said after the game. "When we got it down to one possession, we just couldn't level the score. We needed to make a shot and we couldn't do it." St. John's faces a short turnaround after this game with a Tuesday … [Read more...]

The debate over which school truly is New York's college team is settled, if only for one more year. Fueled by an impressive performance on both ends of the floor, No. 2 Syracuse (23-1, 10-1) took control midway through the first half and never looked back in a 95-70 rout of St. John's (10-13, 4-7) at Madison Square Garden. Five players scored in double figures for the Orange, led by 14 points each from Fab Melo, Dion Waiters and C.J. Fair. Kris Joseph and freshman Michael Carter-Williams chipped in with thirteen each on a day where Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim moved into a third-place tie on the all-time wins list, joining Hall of Famer Dean Smith with 879 career victories. "I thought we did a better job on the boards than we had … [Read more...]

Although it was a loss, one could make a valid case for today serving as the most inspiring game of St. John's basketball that has been played all season. Three days removed from a wire-to-wire win over West Virginia, the Red Storm (9-12) gave a valiant effort in an 83-76 loss to sixth-ranked Duke (18-3) at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It was a game of runs, as Duke turned a slim three-point lead into a 20-point advantage with a 20-3 spurt in the first half, but also one in which a talented freshman made himself a household name to all those who still doubted his abilities. After his 23-point, 13-rebound outing against West Virginia Wednesday night, Moe Harkless matched his rebound total from the previous game and … [Read more...]

Returning to Madison Square Garden for the first time since coughing up a 10-point lead to Villanova, St. John's did more than just exorcise their demons. Tonight, they buried them. Four Red Storm players scored in double figures as St. John's (9-11, 3-6) snapped a four-game losing streak with a commanding 78-62 victory over West Virginia (15-6, 5-3) in a matchup that the Johnnies led by as many as 21. The Mountaineers did get 26 points and 14 rebounds from potential conference player of the year Kevin Jones in the losing effort. "This is the first time we really closed out a game when the other team had a spurt," said Moe Harkless, who led St. John's with 23 points. Assistant coach Mike Dunlap, who is filling in for a recovering … [Read more...]