St. John's Heads To Providence As Road Swing Continues

Feb. 3, 2006

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QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's basketball team (10-9, 3-5 BIG EAST) continues its three-game road stretch as the Red Storm meets fellow original BIG EAST member Providence (9-10, 2-6 BIG EAST) on Saturday. Tip-off from the Dunkin' Donuts Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The contest will air on Radio Disney 1560-AM, with announcers Mike Crispino and Brandon Tierney. The radio pregame show begins at 7:05 p.m., and live audio is available on the Internet at RedStormSports.com.

The BIG EAST expanded to a 16-team mega-conference this offseason, but Saturday's matchup features two of the original seven league members. The BIG EAST became a reality on May 31, 1979, following a meeting of athletic directors from Providence College, St. John's, Georgetown and Syracuse Universities. Seton Hall, Connecticut and Boston College completed the original seven school alliance.

Halfway through its BIG EAST regular season schedule, St. John's finds itself tied for 10th place in the league standings. The Red Storm has already amassed 10 victories, exceeding its win total from each of the last two seasons. St. John's three conference victories on the season ties last year's total and surpasses the number of league wins from two seasons ago. Two of the Red Storm's wins have come against ranked opponents: a 55-50 win over then-No. 9/9 Pitt (Jan. 21) and a 68-56 victory over No. 17/15 Louisville (Jan. 17).

St. John's enters the game following an 81-61 loss at Marquette on Wednesday to begin its three-game road trip. Rookie forward Anthony Mason Jr. posted his second career double-double, and second in the last five games, pacing the Red Storm with 14 points and 11 boards. The contest marks the fifth time this season that Mason has keyed the team in scoring. Big man Lamont Hamilton added 12 points and eight boards, scoring in double-figures for the fourth time in five games. Daryll Hill, who has reached double-digits in each of the last three games, notched 11 with a career-high tying nine assists. Aaron Spears scored nine points with five boards in his Midwestern return.

St. John's and Providence meet for the 92nd time in school history on Saturday, making the Friars the third-most frequently played opponent for SJU, behind only Villanova (99) and Niagara (96). St. John's leads 53-38 in the all-time series that dates to 1927.

Storm Tracker

Defense has been the key to St. John's victories. The Red Storm has limited its opponents to 58.6 points per game on the year -- still the stingiest mark among all BIG EAST teams -- and is listed seventh in the nation according to the latest NCAA rankings (Jan. 30). St. John's is still second in the league in terms of field goal percentage defense at .383, behind only UConn (.371), a figure that ranks eighth in the nation. The 81 points St. John's allowed Marquette (Feb. 1) were the most this season.

Led by the BIG EAST's ninth-leading rebounder in Lamont Hamilton (7.4 rpg), St. John's has been outstanding on the glass. The Red Storm has outrebounded all but three opponents on the season and owns a +8.4 rebounds per game margin, which ranks second in the BIG EAST and fifth in the nation. The Red Storm tied its best rebounding advantage of the season against West Virginia (Jan. 29), posting a 49-25 margin (+24) on the boards. St. John's is third in the league in offensive rebounding with 14.6 per game.

Hamilton followed an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double effort against West Virginia (Jan. 29) with a 12-point, eight rebound performance at Marquette (Feb. 1). In the last five games, Hamilton has averaged 14.4 ppg and 6.4 rpg, shooting 51.7 percent from the field and a staggering 71.4 percent from 3-point range (5-for-7). His superlative efforts against No. 17/15 Louisville (Jan. 17, 15 pts, 5 rebs) and No. 9/9 Pitt (Jan. 21, 24 pts, 8 rebs) earned him MBWA Player of the Week and BIG EAST Honor Roll accolades last week.

Eugene Lawrence has been "huge," stepping up his game particularly since the start of BIG EAST play. The sophomore point guard averages 11.8 ppg through eight league contests, with 6.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He recorded his first-career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 10 assists against Seton Hall (Jan. 4), netted a career-high 18 points against No. 17/15 Louisville (Jan. 17), led a scrappy effort against No. 1 UConn (Jan. 25) with 17 points and seven boards, and scored seven with a career-high tying 10 rebounds against No. 9/13 West Virginia (Jan. 29). The 2005 Holiday Festival MVP is St. John's third-leading scorer (9.8 ppg) and second-leading rebounder on the season (5.3 boards per game), and his 4.9 assists per contest are good enough for sixth in the BIG EAST.

Swing forward Anthony Mason Jr. scored a team-high 14 points with a game-high 11 rebounds against Marquette (Feb. 1), marking his second double-double in five games. He is making a name for himself as a rookie, starting all 19 games for the Red Storm and receiving Holiday Festival all-tournament honors. One of the Red Storm's most consistent deep threats, Mason Jr. has hit from long range in 11 of the last 13 games, going 19-for-47 (.404) from 3-point land across that stretch. He is averaging 9.4 points and 6.5 rebounds in BIG EAST contests -- the rebounding average leads the team in league games.

All-BIG EAST selection Daryll Hill is 34th all-time on the Red Storm scoring chart with 1,122 career points. He made his return against South Florida (Jan. 14) after missing four games with a knee injury, and with nine points (and a career-high 10 rebounds) against Louisville (Jan. 17) moved ahead of Jayson Williams (1,072, 1988-90) on the all-time list. He scored 13 points at UConn (Jan. 25), 17 against West Virginia (Jan. 29) and 11 at Marquette (Feb. 1) to mark his biggest scoring games since returning to the lineup and surpass Mike Parenti (35th, 1,098, 1955-58). Hill needs eight points to pass Harry Boykoff (33rd, 1,129, 1943-47) and nine to overtake Mel Davis (32nd, 1,130, 1971-72).

On Deck

Following the matchup with Providence on Saturday, St. John's wraps up its road swing at Georgetown on Thursday, Feb. 9.

St. John's University Athletics

St. John's Heads To Providence As Road Swing Continues

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Eugene Lawrence

Anthony Mason Jr.

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