Returning to Madison Square Garden for the first time since coughing up a 10-point lead to Villanova, St. John’s did more than just exorcise their demons.
Tonight, they buried them.
Four Red Storm players scored in double figures as St. John’s (9-11, 3-6) snapped a four-game losing streak with a commanding 78-62 victory over West Virginia (15-6, 5-3) in a matchup that the Johnnies led by as many as 21. The Mountaineers did get 26 points and 14 rebounds from potential conference player of the year Kevin Jones in the losing effort.
“This is the first time we really closed out a game when the other team had a spurt,” said Moe Harkless, who led St. John’s with 23 points. Assistant coach Mike Dunlap, who is filling in for a recovering Steve Lavin, praised Harkless’ performance after the game, but bluntly stated that the freshman forward “has a long way to go” to be a complete player. “He’s versatile, but his tool box needs to be developed,” Dunlap remarked.
St. John’s was the last non-ACC team to win at Cameron Indoor Stadium; and they will have the chance to do it again this Saturday against Duke, but not before we leave you with some lasting impressions from Manhattan first.
Lasting Impressions
– Amir Garrett got his second career start tonight, and made the most of it. Although he played only 25 minutes, Garrett set career highs with eleven points and seven rebounds while facilitating numerous transition plays that vaulted the Red Storm to a 22-5 fast break disparity against West Virginia.
– In addition to Garrett, point guard Phil Greene continued his resurgence in what may very well have been his best performance of the season. The Chicago native scored eleven points and dished out eight assists; but most importantly, committed just one turnover.
– Tonight’s game ball goes to Moe Harkless. Playing the full forty minutes, the homegrown talent posted his second-highest point total of the year with 23 points. Harkless also grabbed 13 rebounds and had three blocked shots on a night where he was the most consistent offensive force for the Red Storm.
– Finally, St. John’s showed the counterpunching and resiliency that was the trademark of their magical run last season. West Virginia cut the St. John’s lead to nine points late in the second half, but the Red Storm responded by ending the game on a 10-3 run to close out a game in which they led wire-to-wire. “No game is ever safe,” said D’Angelo Harrison, who chipped in with 19 points. “You could be up by 25 and some team could come beat you.”
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