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An Overtime Victory Gives St. John’s 5th Straight Win, Beating DePaul 79-74

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Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Following four straight victories, the St. John’s Red Storm (14-7, 6-3) would host the DePaul Blue Demons (10-10, 1-6) at Carnesecca Arena in Queens.

One of those Red Storm wins came against DePaul in Chicago with Jamal Branch scoring a career high 18 points in a 72-62 St. John’s victory.

Just a half minute into the game coach Steve Lavin called a time out for St. John’s following four straight offensive rebounds be DePaul. Two minutes later the Storm got on the board to tie the game at 2-2.

Both teams traded buckets to keep the game even until D’Angelo Harrison hit a three leading to a personal 5-0 run. 4 minutes into the game, the Red storm led 9-4.

Chris Obekpa got his first block of the game the possession after he had a strong, sidearmed pass to Amir Garret for a St. John’s bucket. This allowed the Storm to maintain their 11-7 lead with 12 to play in the first.

The Blue Demons would take tie it up and then take the lead following a Jamee Crockett three pointer. Marco Bourgault would match it with a downtown bucket of his own, and with 7 minutes to go in the half the Red Storm retained a 20-18 advantage.

Both teams would battle the for the lead over the next few minutes, until a Phil Greene three propelled St. John’s onto an 8-2 run. DePaul would end the run to get within two of the Storm in the last 3 minutes.

Harrison and Moses Morgan traded a couple of three pointers to keep things close, but a tricky layup by Branch would send St. John’s into halftime leading DePaul 38-31. The Storm committed just 1 turnover while forcing 10.

JaKarr Sampson started the half with a boom, throwing down a one handed dunk off a Harrison bounce pass. The Blue Demons did not let the momentum swing in favor of the Storm, going on a 5-0 run to get within four.

St. John’s would extend their lead again quickly, with Sir’Dom Pointer hitting a rare three. Crockett and Branch then exchanged buckets to make it 45-38 4 minutes into the second.

Neither team was able to score on consecutive possessions for the next 4 minutes. Obekpa broke that up with a free throw to give St. John’s a 54-46 lead.

The big lead would be short-lived, and with 6 to play on the night, DePaul would be just three points away, trailing 63-60.

The Blue Demons would eventually take the lead, but following two offensive rebounds by Pointer and a then a dunk, the teams were tied at 67 all with under 2 minutes remaining.

With .2 seconds remaining Sampson appeared to be fouled, but the ref didn’t blow his whistle until after the buzzer went off. As a result the game headed into overtime tied a 69.

While he wasn’t given a chance to win the game in regulation, Sampson took over in the extra time. He started the session with a block and then scored 6 points, including the bucket that gave the Storm their final lead. His effort was good enough to give St. John’s a 79-74 victory over DePaul.

“I knew I had to play in the system. If I got shots I knew I would have to take them.” Sampson said after the game. “But with the overtime I made it a paint game because my jumper wasn’t falling. I decided I was going to the rim instead of settling for jump shots.”

St. John’s had to play the overtime period without D’Angelo Harrison, who had fouled out of the game. Harrison had a team high 17 points on the night.

“It was tough but we have other players on this team and that what makes this team great. Harrison said of watching the overtime from the sideline. “We played great today and it was a total team effort.”

Harrison and the Red Storm will all be back on the floor Feburary 2 to face the Georgetown Hoyas in Washington.

St. John’s Hangs on Against Seton Hall for Fourth Straight Win, 71-67

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Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The St. John’s Red Storm (13-7, 5-3) returned home to Madison Square Garden to face the Seton Hall Pirates (13-7, 2-5,) as the Storm looked to extend their win streak to four straight games.

While St. John’s was looking to extend their overall win streak to four in a row, Seton Hall was looking to extend their record over the Storm to 4-0 in their last four games.

Both teams go off to quick starts, with the Pirates leading 12-11 after the first 5 minutes. D’Angelo Harrison and JaKarr Sampson scored all 11 of the Red Storm points.

“Everyone comes out energetic and we are playing in The Garden today, so players are making shots.” Sampson said after the game. “We don’t let [the opponent having] a lead get us down.”

Seton Hall was able to extend their lead over St. John’s thanks to 5-6 shooting from beyond the arc. That three point shooting gave the Pirates a 27-19 lead with 10 to go in the half.

D’Angelo Harrison responded with his second three pointer of the game to get St. John’s within five, at 29-24. Following his three, Harrison managed a huge block on the Pirates, helping the Storm keep it close.

Neither team found the bottom of the bucket for the next three minutes, Until Sir’Dom Pointer hit a free throw with 6 minutes remaining in the first.

Sampson got the Storm within two, but Seton Hall came back the other way for their first points in five minutes. Harrison got St. John’s back within two, and with 3 to play they trailed 31-29.

St. John’s finally knotted the score for the first time since tipoff at 31 all following a Phil Greene basket. The bucket was part of a 17-4 for the Storm to end the half.

Chris Obekpa then had an incredible block that sent the ball to midcourt. The Storm grabbed possession of the block and with a minute left in the first, they took the lead 33-31.

Harrison finished the half with a buzzer beating three, giving St. John’s a 38-33 advantage after the games first 20 minutes. Harrison would also be the leading scorer of the half, with 13 points. Sampson was right behind him with 12 points of his own.

The Red Storm kept the attack going out of the half, with Sampson slamming down a one handed dunk and Pointer knocking down a bank shot. The lead continued to grow, and 2 minutes in St. John’s led 44-33.

Aaron Geramipoor finally got the Pirates on the board in the second, but Sampson came right back down the other way to match the basket.

Pointer would block Geramipoor on the next Seton Hall possession. He then came right down the other way to hit a three that would give the Red Storm a 49-35 edge 4 minutes into the second.

The Pirates would finally get on a little run of their own following an Obekpa goaltending call. Their 7-0 streak was ended however with 12 to go, with St. John’s holding on to a 55-44 lead.

Seton Hall continued to go on a run until Jamal Branch laid himself out on the floor for a steal and then threw it over to Obekpa who took it down the floor for a dunk. The hustle play was not enough to put the momentum back in favor of the Storm, and with 8 in the game they led 58-50.

Harrison began to struggle from the field for the Storm, allowing the Pirates to go a 9-0 run to get the game within one. As the clock wound down to the last 4 minutes, St. John’s led just 60-59.

After Harrison hit  one of two free throws, the Storm finally ended the Seton Hall run. He then hit a deep jump shot on the next St. John’s possession to give the Storm a 63-59 advantage with 2 in the game.

Thanks to 8 points late by Harrison, St. John’s was able to hold on and defeat Seton Hall, 71-67. Harrison would finish the day with 24 points and 7 rebounds, leading the Storm to their fourth straight victory.

JaKarr Sampson would also have a big day, finishing with 19 points. Chris Obekpa contributed 4 blocks while also chipping in 4 points.

“What I was most proud of was how we found a way, after Seton Hall went on a run, to go on a run of our own.” Coach Steve Lavin said. “We are trending in the right direction; and with that being said, these kids are very humble and realize we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

St. John’s will look for win number five in a row as they head to Carnesecca Arena January 30 to host the DePaul Blue Demons

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Pointer’s Career Day Sparks St. John’s 3rd Straight Win

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Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

With two wins in a row, the St. John’s Red Storm  (12-7, 4-3) would look to continue their recent Big East success against the Rutgers Scarlett Knights(12-6, 3-4.)

The last four meetings between St. John’s and Rutgers have been decided by a total of just nine points, with the Knights winning this seasons first match-up over the Storm, 58-56.

Jerome Seagears and Myles Mack each hit three pointers for Rutgers to get the games scoring going. St. John’s bounced back quick forcing two turnovers and scoring two buckets, 3 minutes in they trailed 6-4.

The Knights continued turning over the ball, but the Storm would fail to capitalize. With St. John’s shooting 25% from the field, they found themselves in a 12-7 hole 8 minutes in.

Poor shooting continued for St. John’s, and after a period of hitting just 1 of 10 shots, D’Angelo Harrison finally nailed a three. Rutgers would still be in charge however,  leading 18-12 with 9 to go in the half.

Jamal Branch had an impressive reverse layup following a Rutgers bucket. This led the Storm to a mini 6-0 run, and with 6 minutes in the half they were down 20-18.

After trading a few buckets, Rutgers came down the floor and slammed home a dunk to take a 28-21. JaKarr Sampson would  hit a bucket the next time down the floor, cutting the lead to five and propelling St. John’s to a huge run with 3 minutes to play.

Felix Balamou made an appearence for the Storm as he finished up a three point play after Sir’Dom Pointer stole a Rutgers inbound pass. This shrank the Knights advantage to just one point with 1 minute to play.

St. John’s finally took the lead after Sampson hit two free throws, capping off an 8-0 run to end the half and giving the Storm a 29-28 edge.

Pointer had 5 steals in the first half while JaKarr Sampson finished with a team high 8 points. The St. John’s defense held Rutgers leading scorer Eli Carter without a bucket as he shot 0-6 from the field.

“Coach (Lavin) says we’re road warriors.” Pointer said of the tenacious play St. John’s has exhibited on the road recently. “We try to go out and play hard every game”

The St. John’s streak continued coming out of halftime, with Sampson hitting the first bucket of the second half two minutes in. St. John’s continued building their run, shutting out Rutgers for 17 straight points.

Things would not get much better for the Scarlet Knights, who were held without a point for about 7 and a half minutes of play. They would finally end the 17-0 St. John’s run after hitting a free throw, and with 14 to play they trailed 38-29.

Despite their anemic offense keeping them off the board, the Scarlet Knights went on a 7-0 run to get right back in the game. The scoring streak seemed to coincide with Sir’Dom Pointer heading to the bench after getting in foul trouble.

Following a Steve Lavin timeout, Sampson hit a floater and on the next couple of possessions got himself to the line where he hit all three free throws. With 12 minutes to play the Red Storm led Rutgers 43-35.

Eli Carter finally got on the board for the Knights, hitting two free throws followed by a three. Sampson came back from the Carter three  by hitting a deep two, and with 1o left in the game St. John’s led 48-40.

After Rutgers got within six, the Storm took their biggest lead of the game. A Harrison three would give St. John’s an 11 point lead and with 8 to go St. John’s led 55-44.

Frustration continued to grow for the Scarlet Knights with Carter pushing Pointer to the ground for an offensive foul. Sampson would retaliate with a dagger bucket to give St. John’s a 58-47 lead with the clock winding down to the last 4 minutes.

St. John’s would go on to win it by a final of  72-60. Sampson finished just one point shy of his career high, with 21 points. Pointer would fill up the stat sheet with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assist, 6 steals, and 2 blocks.

“It feels great to know that we are moving in the right direction.” Pointer said of the fourth Big East win.”The numbers are good, but the win is better.”

The Red Storm will look to keep their winning streak alive as they host Seton Hall on January 27 as they head back to Madison Square Garden.

St. John’s Holds Off A Late Surging DePaul, 71-62

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Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

After closing out their home-stand with a win, the St. John’s Red Storm (11-7, 3-3) headed out to Chicago to face the DePaul Blue Demons (10-8, 1-4.)

D’Angelo Harrison has not been chipping in at his usual offensive rate, averaging just 7.5 points in his last two games. DePaul would look to continue that trend if they hoped to defeat St. John’s.

The Storm hit their first three shots of the game, a far cry from their recent early game struggles. The steady offense gave St. John’s an 8-4 lead 3 minutes in.

DePaul at one point had missed ten straight field-goals. Fortunately for the Blue Demons however, the Storm were not hitting many shots either, getting 8 of their 14 points from Jamal Branch. With 13 to go in the first, St. John’s led 14-10.

After shooting 0-6 from three, the Blue Demons finally hit a shot from downtown. That three pointer tied the game at 19 points apiece with 9 minutes left in the half.

Neither team found much of a groove as the half wound down, with the lone highlight coming from Jamee Crocket who had a dunk and a floater, both over Chris Obekpa. The teams remained tied with 4 minutes to go, 29-29.

Crocket continued dominating the Storm in the paint, adding another dunk and an ally-oop slam to give the Blue Demons the lead. With a minute to play D’Angelo Harrison got his first two points of the game, thus taking the lead back at 35-33.

St. John’s would maintain that 35-33 advantage going into halftime. Branch had 14 of his career high 18 points in the first while Sir’Dom Pointer added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.

“I just let the game come to me and took all the shots that I had.” Jamal Branch said of his effort. “We’re a young squad, just learning and maturing each game.”

Pointer had the lone St. John’s points in the first 4 minutes of the second half. As a result, DePaul was able to take a 39-37 lead.

Things would turn around quickly however, and following an Obekpa block the Red Storm went on an 10-0 run. With 14 to go in the game, St. John’s led 47-39.

Moses Morgan would end the run with a three, but a quick bounce pass from Jamal Branch going the other way to Harrison would get St. John’s going again.

DePaul was able to get within six points of the St. John’s lead, but another quick 11-0 run for the Storm gave them their big lead right back. Chris Obekpa finished the run with a huge dunk off of a pump fake followed by a steal and a layup. With 7 to go in the game, the Storm led 63-46.

St. John’s got a little sloppy following their spurt, with six turnovers in just two minutes. That allowed the Blue Demons to cut into the Red Storm lead, with 4 to go they trailed 63-53.

Jamee Crocket then hit two three pointers to get DePaul within six once again. With 3 to go the St. John’s lead was just 65-59.

Moses Morgan got the Blue Demons within one score after hitting a three of his own, but D’Angelo Harrison hit two free throws to give St. John’s a five point lead.

Harrison would hit the line again with a minute to play, making one of two and giving the Red Storm a 68-62 lead. St. John’s would hold on and win it by a final 71-62.

Sir’Dom Pointer would finish the afternoon with an 11 rebound, 14 point double double. D’Angelo Harrison had 13 of his 15 points in the second half, to go with 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

“It was a big time win, we played a collective overall game.” JaKarr Sampson, who contributed 10 points said. “We had an all around good game with everyone contributing.”

The Red Storm will look to extend their winning streak to three when they head to Rutgers January 23 to face the Scarlet Knights.

St. John’s Upsets #20 Notre Dame for First Big East Win at Madison Square Garden

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Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

After two straight losses on their first Big East home-stand of the season, the St. John’s Red Storm (10-7, 2-3) would look for a win against the #20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-3, 2-2.)

St. John’s had won their last four games against the Fighting Irish when the two teams played at Madison Square Garden. Double double machine Jack Cooley would look to end that streak for Notre Dame.

Things would look good early for Cooley as he got it started for the Irish with a dunk on a pass from Jerian Grant. Grant then extended the lead with a bucket of his own to give Notre Dame a 4-0 edge 2 minutes in.

It looked like the Storm would be off to one of their patented slow starts, that was until Phil Greene and Amir Garret each added four points to keep St. John’s close. With 15 minutes to go, they trailed 10-8.

“We came out very intense today. You know, coming off a loss to Georgetown; that definitely wasn’t the way that we play.” Garret said of the early effort. “We had a good few days of practice, so we knew we just had to come out hard today.”

Notre Dame continued to maintain their lead for the next 10 minutes, but they were never able to get ahead by more than five points. St. John’s would take advantage, and with 4 minutes remaining in the first, Jakarr Sampson gave the Storm their first lead of the game, 26-25.

Sampson would help St. John’s keep their upset hopes alive scoring 14 points in the first half. Those would be enough to give the Red Storm a 32-31 lead after the games first 20 minutes.

Following a Sir’Dom Pointer basket, the Irish went on a 6-0 run to retake the lead. Phil Greene responded with the first three pointer of the game for either team, tying it up at 37 points apiece.

Jamal Branch protects the basket as St. John’s had 9 blocked shots as a team. (Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports)

The Storm would keep their foot on the pedal, and following another bucket for the Irish, St. John’s went on an 10-0 run take a 47-39 lead with 12 minutes left in the game.

Notre Dame finally broke the run after Jerian Grant hit two free throws, but Amir Garret came back the other way with a three point play. D’Angelo Harrison would then get three points of his own after hitting a deep shot from downtown. At the half way mark of the second, the Storm led 55-45.

Following four Notre Dame points, a Pat Connaughton three would get the Irish within 5 points. St. John’s finally ended a 7-0 Notre Dame run after a Sampson jumper, and with 7 to play the lead shrunk to 57-52.

The lead continued to dwindle for the Storm, and the Irish tied the game once again with 5 to go, 59-59. They then took the lead on their next possession as Eric Atkins sunk a floater, giving him 21 points on the night.

D’Angelo Harrison would take an errant elbow from an Irish player that left him dripping blood. After an official review however it was found that Chris Obekpa was the one that smacked Dee in the nose, which would keep St. John’s off the line.

After both teams traded buckets, the bloodied Harrison hit a three to give the Storm the advantage once again. With two minutes to play St. John’s led 64-63.

With 30 seconds to go the Irish had a chance to take the lead. Harrison managed his third block of the game and then sent Sampson to the line, where he hit one of two free throws. On the next Notre Dame possession Obekpa had a huge block that gave the Storm the ball.

“He didn’t see me, so I watch how the other guys block shots during practice.” Harrison said of his crunch time block. “I went up with two hands to contest the shot and got the ball.”

The Red Storm would hold on to beat the #20 Irish by a final of 67-63. St. John’s held Jack Cooley to just 10 points and 5 rebounds. Despite only 8 points for Harrison, his game saving block was enough to lead the Storm to victory.

St. John’s will look to keep things going as they head to Chigaco January 19 to play Depaul, a game that will be played at 12 P.M.