After a first round victory over St. Joseph’s, the St. John’s Red Storm looked to extend their NIT run as they played the Virginia Cavaliers.
Scoring was few and far between in the better part of the first half, with Chris Obekpa being the offensive spark for St. John’s early on. His jumper was the lone bucket in the games first 3 minutes.
The first 8 minutes saw Virginia manage just six shots, while hitting only one. If not for a 4-12 shooting performance for the Storm, things would not be as close as the 8-4 score dictated.
Teven Jones would get the Cavaliers back with one shot, draining a three pointer to cut the St. John’s lead to one. After another one of their 5 early turnovers, the Storm relinquished their lead, with Virginia taking a 9-8 advantage.
Virginia would continue building on their lead with a 9-0 run to give them a 13-8 lead. It would finally come to an end after a JaKarr Sampson banker with 9 to go in the half.
Two straight three pointers for Taylor Barnette would add to the St. John’s deficit. In an unlikely turn of events however it would be an Amir Garret shot from downtown to get the Storm back in it. Garret would add a tip-in on the next possession to make it 24-16 with 4 to play.
St. John’s would struggle to get things any closer, and they went into halftime trailing 32-21. Sampson who had a team high 6 points, would also go into half in foul trouble with 3.
Much like the start of the game, neither team got on an offensive roll early in the second half, with Phil Greene scoring the only points for St. John’s in the first 4 minutes. The equally anemic Cavaliers only managed six points of their own, giving them a 38-27 advantage.
Virginia continued to struggle, scoring just three field goals in the first 7 minutes. This allowed the Storm to go on an 8-2 run to chip the Cavaliers lead to just 40-33.
Just as St. John’s looked to battle back, Justin Anderson knocked down a three to extend the Virginia lead back to double digits. On the next possession for the Storm, Sampson took his fourth foul as things began getting physical.
Another chance for St. John’s was once again thwarted by Taylor Barnette, who nailed another three as the Storm tried trimming the lead. With 8 to play the Cavaliers led 50-37.
Virginia would continue to pour it on as the clock wound down, and they would eventually win it by a final of 68-50, ending the St. John’s season.
Phil Greene finished the season with a team high 18 points. Sampson scored 14 while also pulling down 7 rebounds.
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