St. John's University Athletics
St. John??' Takes On Illinois State At Carnesecca Arena
11/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The St. John???s men???s basketball team (2-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) returns home to Queens for the first of four straight contests at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm opens that stretch by meeting the Illinois State Redbirds (2-2, 0-0 MVAC) at 7:30 p.m. The contest will air live on 1560-AM Radio Disney, with Mike Crispino and Tarik Turner calling the action from courtside. Live stats and audio are available over the Internet at www.redstormsports.com.
St. John???s is coming off a hard-fought 77-76 loss to then-No. 19/18Texas in the consolation game of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Junior Avery Patterson was once again prolific from the outside to lead the Red Storm, connecting on 6-of-11 3-pointers en route to a 22-point performance. Sophomore Anthony Mason Jr. made 6-of-11 field goals and notched 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Naismith and Wooden Award candidate Lamont Hamilton recorded his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 boards. Senior Daryll Hill was the fourth St. John's player in double-figures, contributing 10 points and eight assists.
As a team, St. John's has shown marked improvement in its perimeter game. Led by Patterson, who has made 50.0 percent of his 3-pointers, and sophomore Ricky Torres, who has hit 5-of-6 attempts on the year, the Red Storm has connected on 43.0 percent of its long-range tries. As a result, scoring offense has also improved, as the Red Storm has averaged 70.5 points per contest.
St. John???s is 0-1 all-time against the Redbirds, having fallen 77-69 on the road in Normal, Ill., during the 2004-05 season.
