The Red Storm squared off against the Ivy League’s Brown Bears Friday night in Queens, and were able to squeak by with a 79-76 victory. St. John’s staved off a late Brown rally to come away with the three point win. The game started out well for the Red Storm, who were able to build a double-digit lead early in the period. Dwight Hardy made an impact early for St. John’s, hitting two quick threes to build the Red Storm lead to 11 points; 24-13. But Brown was able to mount a late first half comeback, hitting three pointers of their own that allowed them to cut the lead to single digits. St. John’s went into the break staked to a ten point lead, 42-32.
The second half was a different story for St. John’s, who had to battle against both the Brown Bears and the officials. Brown took advantage of Red Storm mistakes and favorable foul calls to crawl back into the game. They were able to rely on the long ball, sinking three pointers at key points during the half to climb back into contention. But St. John’s did not go quietly, storming back from Brown’s first rally to climb back to a double digit lead, 63-51 with ten minutes to go in the game. But Brown also refused to give in, mounting another furious comeback that almost gave them the victory. The Bears took advantage of ticky-tak fouls called against the Red Storm to chip away at the lead. Brown was very proficient in hitting their foul shots, eventually cutting the lead to 4 points with 2:30 left in the contest. They were able to cut the lead down to one with 1:09 left to play, but could not advance any further. St. John’s came away victorious, 79-76.
Sean Evans had perhaps the best game for the Red Storm, scoring 14 points to go along with 9 rebounds. What was most impressive was the day he had on the free-throw line, Evans hit 8 out of 10 free throws, which proved to be the difference in the game. It was very interesting to see a 50% free throw shooter magically turn into Rick Barry, and I hope it continues. He also had a great defensive game, for the most part shutting down Brown star Matt Mullery. He played a tenacious game down low, forcing Mullery to commit 5 turnovers.
Malik Boothe had a solid game offensively, scoring 10 points on 3-10 shooting. Boothe was able to counteract the tenacity of the Brown guards by playing a smart, up-tempo style of play. He also added 3 assists, 3 steals, and 7 rebounds. Boothe was also effective on the defensive side of the ball, making hustle plays that caused the Bears fits.
DJ Kennedy also put forth a solid effort, finishing with 15 points on 5-8 shooting from the floor. He also played a tough game, diving for balls and displaying an effort that is refreshing to see. He was able to slash through the defense, drawing fouls along the way. He went 5-5 from the charity stripe, which was important considering how close the game got in the final minutes.
Justin Burrell and Paris Horne both had quite nights, scoring 2 and 5 points, respectively. Burrell saw a limited amount of time against Brown, only clocking in 12 minutes on the floor. Horne had a rough day, scoring his 5 points on 2-6 shooting from the floor. It was a rare victory in which neither Horne nor Burrell had a big impact in the scorebook.
Dwight Hardy was electric coming off the bench for the Johnnies, scoring 16 points on 6-11 shooting from the floor; including 4-6 from three point land. Hardy was the main catalyst behind the Red Storm’s early run, knocking down multiple three’s that allowed St. John’s to build a big lead during the early going. Hardy continues to prove that he has what it takes to be a big-time shooter, incorporating a beautiful jump shot that has been able to find the bottom of the net more often than not.
Justin Brownlee also had a good showing, scoring 9 points on 4-9 shooting; to go along with 3 rebounds and 3 steals. But Brownlee’s biggest contribution to the game cannot be found in the stat sheet, as he made hustle plays that turned into points for the Red Storm. It is becoming apparent that Brownlee plays a tenacious brand of basketball, one that will excite fans and terrorize opposing players.
Keys to Victory
The Feel Good Game of the Year: While a 3 point victory over a bottom-of the barrel Ivy League team may not seem like cause for celebration, there were a lot of positives to take from this game. While St. John’s certainly did not dominate, they did what they needed to do to win. The Red Storm faced off against a Brown team that would not give in, as well as officials who made some very questionable calls during the second half. Brown took advantage of this and were able to mount a comeback that almost took the victory away from the Red Storm. But St. John’s showed a kind of heart that winners have, refusing to give in when it seemed like they were going to lose. This game was the kind of game that winning teams come away with, and St. John’s did just that.
Grade: B
Rebound Better: During the periods of the game where St. John’s was able to mount a large lead, they dominated the boards on both ends of the court. St. John’s out rebounded Brown 33-25 in the game, but the margin seemed much larger than that. Sean Evans did an especially good job down low, grabbing 9 boards in the victory.
Grade: B
Make Some Two’s: Against Brown, Sean Evans wrote the manual on how to draw fouls and get to the charity stripe. Evans was a force to be reckoned with down low, drawing fouls and hitting foul shots. The much smaller Brown team had to resort to fouling to stop the low post presence of Evans. It seemed like the Ivy Leaguers thought that had a good plan in place, foul the big guy who can’t hit free throws and watch him miss. But Evans had a terrific day from the charity stripe, hitting 8-10. Evans was not the only one hitting his free throws, as Malik Boothe and DJ Kennedy combined to go 9-9 from the line. As a team St. John’s went 18-20 (90%!) from the line, which proved to be the difference in the final outcome.
Grade: A
Better Ball Control: St. John’s also did a good job of holding onto the ball against Brown, committing only 10 turnovers (compared to 21 for the Bears). The guard play from St. John’s was effective, as Malik Boothe, Dwight Hardy and Omari Lawrence combined for only 5 turnovers.
Grade: A
Backups Need To Maintain Pace: It would make sense to assume that as the season progresses the backups would become better acclimated to the system and allow for a much more seamless transition. While it is clear who the starters are and who the bench players are, against Brown the bench held its own. They appeared to be on the same page as the starters, which allowed for more continuity and a much more consistent game; on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The defense from Omari Lawrence and Dwight Hardy was somewhat suspect during Brown’s late game run, but that is too be expected from Freshmen 3 games into their collegiate careers.
Grade: B-
Overall GPA: 3.34 (St. John’s put in a much stronger performance than the score would indicate)
[…] Red Storm have already played one game in the “classic” – the on-campus 79-76 squeaker win over the Brown Bears. The Red Storm have had almost a full week to ruminate on that near disaster. It was tough to […]