Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

St. John’s (6-2) looked to extend its winning streak to four as they hosted (4-3) The NJIT Highlanders in a matinee game at Carnesecca Arena.

JaKarr Sampson kept the Red Storm’s blocking trend going early, stuffing the Highlanders on their first offensive opportunity and then taking it the other way to give the Johnnies an early 2-0 lead. The Storm would finish the game with 12 blocks, they are second in the nation in that category.

Sampson built off his early momentum, scoring six of the first ten points for the Storm including a booming dunk. He would eventually pick up his first career double double, with 15 points and 17 rebounds.

Seven minutes into the contest, the game had to be delayed due to issues with the shot clock. At the time of the delay the Johnnies led 10-8. That would be the last lead of the half for St. John’s, as they were never able to get back into an offensive rhythm.

The Highlanders were able to go on a 18-5 run following the delay, hitting four three pointers. D’Angelo Harrison finally hit a three of his own for the Johnnies, their first of the game, giving NJIT a single digit lead of 26-19.

That Harrison triple would be the only one for St. John’s in the half however, the Highlanders had six shots drop from beyond the arc. The Storm also committed 8 turnovers while pulling down just 12 rebounds, compared to 20 for NJIT. At the half St. John’s trailed 35-23.

“I was naturally disappointed that we dug a hole and that we were down 14 in the first half.” Lavin said of his teams first 20 minutes. “Our goal, and it’s been elusive to this point, has been to put together two halves.”

St. John’s came out of halftime strong, going on an 11-0 run to trim the lead to 38-36. Harrison had 7 points for the Storm during that time.

The Johnnies aggressive play was key to cutting the deficit, highlighted by Sir’Dom Pointer diving to poke a lose ball from NJIT and force a backcourt violation.

NJIT finally ended the run with fourteen to go in the half, but the Johnnies came right back to score, tie, and eventually take the lead back at 42-40.

Ryan Woods would hit his fourth three of the game to give the Highlanders the lead back, and the teams continued to trade buckets until Chris Obekpa gave the Storm a 54-49 lead with three minutes to go.

That would be all the scoring St. John’s would need, as they went on to win the game 57-49. The Storm held NJIT to just 14 points in the second half. Harrison would have his seventh 20 point game of the season, as he dropped 21.

“He brings a big spark because he’s our leader.” said JaKarr Sampson of teammate D’Angelo Harrison. “We go as he goes.”

The Johnnies will look to keep their winning streak alive Tuesday night as they head out to San Francisco to face the Dons, a 10 PM Eastern start time.

Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

The South Carolina Gamecocks (5-2) began their first road trip of the season Thursday night as they took on St. John’s (5-2) for the SEC/Big East Challenge at Carnesecca Arena.

Students, players, and the coaching staff alike all sported black in a night that was called a “blackout.” Coach Steve Lavin traded in his famous white Nike Air Force One sneakers for a pair of Nike black Uptowns.

The Gamecocks were turnover prone early on in the game. After just five minutes of play the Storm had 5 steals, although they were only able to capitalize with a 12-9 lead.

After South Carolina trimmed the lead to just one, St. John’s went on an 8-0 run to take a 20-11 lead. The run finally came to an end after a tear drop shot by Laimonas Chatkevicius with ten minutes to go in the half.

The Johnnies would again go on another run, this time a 10-0 one that would be capped by an ally-oop from Sir’Dom Pointer to Felix Balamou . This would give the Johnnies a 30-15 lead, their biggest of the half.

Chris Obekpa got his fist block of the game with about a minute and a half to go in the first after being called for goaltending twice before.

The first twenty minutes came to a close with St. John’s leading South Carolina, 38-26. D’Angelo Harrison  and Phil Greene led the way with 8 points apiece.

The Johnnies got off to a raucous start in the second half with two consecutive blocks by Balamou that led to a Harrison three pointer.

South Carolina would respond quickly though, they were able to trim the lead to just 9 points at the fifteen minute mark. Brenton Williams hit two three pointers to keep things tight at 50-41. Williams would later be taken off on a stretcher in what appeared to be a neck injury. Andy Katz of ESPN tweeted that Williams had movement in his extremities but would be taken to hospital for further testing.

That would be as close as the Gamecocks would get for the rest of the game. Greene and Harrison would both hit threes to give the Storm a 15 point lead at the time, one that would continue to grow.

St. John’s would go on to win the game by a final of 89-65. Amir Garret filled up the stat sheet, recording a double double. He had 16 points to go with 11 rebounds. The real star for coach Lavin though was D’Angelo Harrison and his 26 points

“His floor game and judgement were excellent. He sustained good choices tonight.” Lavin said. “He has range like Reggie Miller, but has improved his mid-range game like Scottie Reynolds.”

St. John’s will get back to action Saturday December 1 for an afternoon game as they host NJIT at Carnesecca Arena.