Road game in a place they haven’t won at in over a decade. It was the same scenario to close out 2010, and St. John’s provided the same result to open 2011.
Three days removed from a dominating win at West Virginia, the Johnnies (9-3, 2-0 in the Big East) fought off a scrappy Providence team on the way to a 67-65 victory over the Friars. (11-4, 0-2) Dwight Hardy continued his hot streak, scoring a game-high 21 points and adding six rebounds while playing all forty minutes. Justin Brownlee gave the Red Storm another solid performance; (14 points and nine rebounds) but the biggest points of the game came from Paris Horne, whose trifecta in the final minute broke a 62-all tie and gave St. John’s the lead for good. D.J. Kennedy contributed two free throws before Providence hit a three that proved inconsequential after the buzzer sounded.
The Red Storm started the game strong as Justin Burrell scored all of the Johnnies’ first eight points. Burrell finished with 16 overall as the game became a seesaw battle featuring one run after another as St. John’s took a 28-24 halftime lead into the locker room. Over the final twenty minutes, the Johnnies shot 56 percent (15-for-27) and 4-of-8 from long range to preserve the lead despite committing 16 turnovers. Although the Storm only attempted six foul shots, they were successful on all but one. Marshon Brooks continued his one-man show with 20 points to pace the Friars while point guard Vincent Council scored 14 to complement his six assists.
St. John’s returns home on Monday for a matchup with Georgetown at Madison Square Garden that will be televised nationally on ESPN2 at 7pm. The Hoyas are currently ranked ninth in the country, but that number will likely be lower after their loss at Notre Dame Wednesday night.
Great gut check away big east win. A lot of positives…BUT they definitely need to handle the ball better during crunch time and somebody please tell DJ Kennedy that his “too cool for school” attitude on the court is a LOSERS attitude that he needs to get over for this team to max its potential. He should take a cue from Paris Horne and his positive energy.