The fifth ranked Louisville Cardinals were able to shake off some early-game rust, and beat St. John’s; 60-47.
The Red Storm were able to keep it close early in the game, taking advantage of a cold-shooting Louisville squad. Neither team played very well offensively in the first half, with each team struggling to find the bottom of the net. The Cardinals shot 34% in the first half, and St. John’s shot 23%. St. John’s had a three point lead going into the break, due mostly to the fact that they were able to control the boards during the period. St. John’s went into the half staked to a 3 point lead, 22-19.
Both teams stepped it up offensively during the early going of the second half though, as they traded buckets to start off the period. But as the half wore on, Louisville got it together and was able to create some distance between themselves and the Red Storm. Louisville began to dominate the boards, grabbing key offensive rebounds that allowed them to build up their lead. The Cardinals controlled the ball for much of the first half, grabbing offensive boards that gave them a fresh shot clock and chances at more points. St. John’s looked like they had it in them for one more run to close the deficit, but Louisville staved off the attack, and ended up winning; 60-47.
DJ Kennedy, Malik Boothe, Paris Horne, Justin Burrell, and Sean Evans got the start against the Cardinals, who were coming off their first conference loss against the UConn Huskies.
Sean Evans had a great first half, and a good game; scoring 12 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. Evans put together a dominate first half, grabbing offensive rebounds that allowed the Red Storm to keep it close early in the game. The sophomore shot 4-10 from the field, and 4-5 from the free throw line. Evans’ 12 points gives him three straight games with a double-figure point total.
Justin Burrell scored 10 points on 5-17 shooting from the field. Burrell also grabbed 4 rebounds, three of them offensive. Burrell was able to put together a double-digit scoring performance, but he struggled mightily at points during the game. Burrell took to many ill-advised shots, evidenced by his 29% shooting performance.
DJ Kennedy added 10 points and 6 rebounds to the losing effort. Kennedy shot 3-11 from the floor, including 2-4 from three point range. The Pittsburgh native had good looks at the basket, but he was unable to get much of a rhythm together shooting the ball.
Malik Boothe went the distance against the Cardinals, playing all 40 minutes in the loss. Boothe had a good day offensively, scoring 6 points on 3-6 shooting from the field. The diminutive guard finished the game with a well rounded stat line, recording 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 assists on top of the 6 points. The fact that Boothe played from start-to-finish goes a long way in proving that he is not feeling any lingering affects from the injury that sidelined him for more than a month.
Paris Horne just missed double-digits, scoring 9 points on 4-15 shooting. Horne had a rough time shooting the three-pointer, going 0-7 from deep against Louisville. St. John’s needs Horne to step up in big games, and he usually does not disappoint. But against Louisville, Horne had a tough time getting anything going; getting frustrated at points and taking bad shots.
As always, the JohnnyJungle.com provides you both pre and post game analysis. In the Breakdown I like to see if the team was reading the pre-game column, Calm Before the Storm. Here I will give the Johnnies a school grade for each key to victory to see if they paid attention in class.
Protect the Ball– Against Seton Hall, the Red Storm was unable to hold onto the ball, and it led to a blowout loss to one of the Big East bottom feeders. But for a majority of the game against Louisville, St. John’s did a good job of holding onto the ball. The ‘Storm made quick work of the press in the first half, bringing the ball up the court with relative ease. St. John’s only turned the ball over 12 times for the game, but a couple of big turnovers down the stretch allowed Louisville to build up a lead.
Grade: C
Get Back on Defense– St. John’s matched Louisville’s intensity during the first half, running with the Cardinals from the first tip until the half ended. The Red Storm also did a good job of limiting the number of quality three-point shots for the Cardinals. St. John’s held Louisville to 0-8 shooting from three-point range during the first half, and 3-17 on the game. But during Louisville’s run that build them a substantial lead, they shook the rust off and were able to play the kind of game that gets them a #5 ranking, scoring easy points in transition and off turnovers.
Grade: C
Get Shot Attempts to the Scorers- Both teams struggled mightily in the first half, combining for just 41 first period points. The Red Storm were able to stay in the game mainly because of their ability to outmuscle the Cardinals underneath. St. John’s only shot 31% for the game, and all of the St. John’s scorers struggled. Paris Horne, DJ Kennedy, and Justin Burrell combined for 29 points on 29% shooting from the field; not the kind of numbers the Red Storm need from their big three scorers.
Grade: D
Rebound, Put Back, Get Fouled, Make It Ugly- Sean Evans showed off his strength during the first half, grabbing offensive boards and converting them into easy points. Evans and the rest of the St. John’s squad played their kind of game in the first half, slowing the pace and not allowing Louisville to get into any kind of rhythm. It looked good going into the break, as St. John’s frustrated the Cardinals into playing their kind of game. But in the second half, Louisville showed their strength, and they turned the tables on the Red Storm. It was Louisville who grabbed most of the important rebounds during the second period, and they were able to pull away with it down the stretch.
Grade: C
Limit Samardo; Bother Clark + Williams- Samardo Samuels started off the game by giving the Red Storm fits, but an elbow to his face from DJ Kennedy sent him to the hospital right before halftime. Before sustaining his game-ending injury, Samuels was 4-4 with 9 points; and seemed well on his way toward having a dominate game. While the ‘Storm were lucky not to have to deal with Samuels during the second half, they still had to contend with Terrence Williams and Earl Clark. St. John’s limited Williams to 3 points on 0-7 shooting from the field, but Earl Clark scored 12 in the Louisville win. While Williams and Clark did not exactly put up huge numbers; other Cardinals picked up the slack. Jerry Smith came of the bench for Louisville and scored 21 points on 4-7 shooting, as well as 11-11 from the free-throw line.
Grade: C
GPA: 1.8
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