St. John's Basketball Faces Local Squad Stony Brook Wednesday

Dec. 6, 2005

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QUEENS, N.Y. - Another matchup of local squads comes to Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday as the St. John's men's basketball team (4-1) closes out its six-game season-opening homestand on Wednesday with Stony Brook (0-3). The Red Storm looks to finish its early home stretch on a winning note in a game that will be aired live on Radio Disney 1560-AM, with Mike Crispino and Brandon Tierney calling the action. The radio pregame show begins at 7:05 p.m. Live audio and stats are available on the Internet at RedStormSports.com.

The Red Storm got back on the winning track on Saturday, Dec. 3, with a 64-50 win over Charleston Southern. Preseason All-BIG EAST guard Daryll Hill returned to the lineup after missing the Hofstra game (Nov. 29) with a bruised knee and led St. John's with a 15-point effort. Hill scored 11 second-half points and added four assists, four rebounds and two steals, helping the Red Storm to seal the victory. Fellow co-captain Lamont Hamilton turned in another monster performance with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting and eight rebounds. The Red Storm continued its dominance on the glass, posting a 45-33 rebounding advantage, and made 41.2 percent of its field goals while limiting Charleston Southern to 30.4 percent shooting.

Defense and rebounding have been keys to St. John's early-season success. St. John's owns the stingiest scoring defense (53.0 points per game) and field goal percentage defense (.336) among all BIG EAST teams. The Red Storm's team rebounding mark (46.6 per game) and rebounding margin (+12.2 rpg) are also tops in the league.

A victory on Wednesday would give the Red Storm a fifth win in its first six games for the first time since the 2002-03 season, and would mark the fifth time in the last 16 seasons that St. John's was at least 5-1 through its first six games.

St. John's leads the all-time series with Stony Brook, 6-0, after a 66-57 victory over the Seawolves at Carnesecca Arena last Nov. 30. Head coach Steve Pikiell is in his first season on the SBU bench, and his squad has suffered losses at Villanova (78-35, Nov. 18) and in close contests at Lehigh (58-54, Nov. 22) and vs. Columbia (55-54, Nov. 26).

Storm Tracker

Defense has been a key to St. John's early-season success, as the Red Storm has limited its opponents to a league-best 53.0 points per game. St. John's owns the conference's top field goal percentage defense at .336 and has forced opponents into committing an average of 17.2 turnovers per outing. St. John's average margin of victory is +11.6 ppg, which ranks sixth in the league.

Led by the BIG EAST's second-leading rebounder in junior big man Lamont Hamilton (11.0 rpg), St. John's has been getting it done on the glass in 2005-06. The Red Storm leads all BIG EAST teams with 46.6 boards per game, owns a conference-best +12.2 rebounds per game margin and a league-leading 18.8 rebounds per game average on the offensive end.

Over his last three outings, Hamilton has averaged 15.7 ppg to go along with 12.0 rebounds per contest, hitting at a .515 mark from the floor and averaging 2.0 rejections. Hamilton's 14-point, eight-rebound effort against Charleston Southern (Dec. 3) followed a pair of consecutive double-doubles -- 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds against Niagara (Nov. 26) and 18 points, 11 rebounds against Hofstra (Nov. 29). Hamilton has seven career double-doubles to date and is one of only 10 BIG EAST players to have multiple double-doubles this season. His seven career double-doubles tie him for seventh place among all active BIG EAST performers. Hamilton is currently ranked eighth in blocked shots with 2.0 per game.

Daryll Hill, the BIG EAST's top returning scorer in 2005-06, has now passed the 1,000-point mark for his career (1,021), becoming the 42nd player in St. John's history to do so. Hill began to heat up against St. Francis and continued his outburst against Niagara, and after missing the Hofstra game (Nov. 29) with a bruised knee, stormed back into the lineup against Charleston Southern. Improved scoring options in the Red Storm offense have enabled Hill to focus on his overall game and playmaking -- not just scoring -- and he currently ranks among conference leaders in scoring (15.3 ppg, 17th), assists (4.3 per game, T-9th) and free throw percentage (.864, T-7th). Hill played nearly every minute of every game a season ago and averaged 38.0 minutes per outing. He still leads the Red Storm in minutes played at 32.8 per game, but has been able to shave more than five minutes off his average as St. John's has displayed greater backcourt depth.

Eugene Lawrence continues to produce on both ends of the floor for the Red Storm, averaging 6.0 ppg after five contests. Lawrence is among the BIG EAST's best rebounding guards at 5.8 boards per outing, which ranks second on the team. He has dished 23 assists (4.6 per game) after leading all rookie passers a season ago, and has amassed nine steals as well (1.8 per game).

Sophomore guard Cedric Jackson is one of three St. John's players averaging 6.8 points per game. Jackson started 25 games as a freshman and has adapted well this season to his "6th man" role. He brings energy and intensity whenever he takes the floor, and his 24.2 minutes per game average is fourth on the team. Jackson has averaged 4.6 rebounds per game on this season, totaling more rebounds on the offensive end (12) than on the defensive glass (11).

Swing forward Anthony Mason Jr. is building a name for himself as a freshman, starting all five games for the Red Storm. He is tied for third on the team in scoring at 6.8 ppg, is averaging 4.4 rebounds per game and has made seven steals.

On Deck

St. John's makes its first road trip of the season on Saturday, Dec. 10, to Virginia Tech (4 p.m., FOX Sports Net, ESPN 1050-AM).

St. John's University Athletics

St. John's Basketball Faces Local Squad Stony Brook Wednesday

Players Mentioned

Eugene Lawrence

Anthony Mason Jr.

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