Great Alaska Blowout

After coming back from a second-half deficit to topple Ball State in overtime yesterday morning, St. John’s needed to stay focused against Drake tonight.

Boy, did they ever.

Three Johnnies ended the night in double figures and four more chipped in with eight points each as the Red Storm (3-1) rolled over Drake by the final of 82-39. The win was the first victory of 40 or more points for St. John’s since November 23, 1999; when Mike Jarvis guided the boys from Queens to an 84-43 thrashing of Stony Brook. Tonight gave Steve Lavin many reasons to smile, as not only did his team spread the love offensively; they also shot 58% (30-for-52) from the field.

Justin Brownlee led the Red Storm with 13 points while Dwight Hardy scored all of his 11 in the first half, where the Johnnies came out of the opening stanza and into the locker room with a 45-17 advantage. Sean Evans was the other St. John’s player to manage a double-figure outing, tallying 10. Rayvonte Rice and Aaron Hawley led Drake with 10 points each.

There were several keys to victory going in for the Johnnies, namely guard play and playing with confidence overall. Not only did the Red Storm backcourt contribute, but there was never a point over forty minutes where a lack of confidence could be found. In addition to Hardy’s 11 points, Paris Horne and Malik Boothe tallied eight each. Boothe also facilitated some scoring opportunities with six assists. Although quiet in the box score with just a half-dozen points, D.J. Kennedy added eight rebounds to help the Johnnies win the battle of the boards 38-24. St. John’s also exhibited better ball control by committing just 12 turnovers.

St. John’s now plays for the Great Alaska Shootout championship tonight (tomorrow morning on the East Coast) against Arizona State, with a midnight Eastern time tipoff.