STJ Closes Six-Game Queens Homestand With Bethune-Cookman

Dec. 13, 2008

QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's men's basketball team (7-1) looks to complete what would be a perfect 6-0 Queens homestand and win its sixth game in as many chances on Sunday when the Red Storm meets Bethune-Cookman (4-4) of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) for the first time in STJ's 101-plus years on the hardwood. The game will air live in the New York City area on the official flagship of St. John's Basketball, Bloomberg Radio 1130-AM, with play-by-play announcer John Minko and analyst Tarik Turner on the call. Live video, audio and GameTracker Live Stats are also available through StormTracker All-Access on RedStormSports.com.

The Red Storm enters the contest on a five-game win streak, marking its longest victory streak since a seven-win stretch in 2006-07. The Red Storm posted seven-consecutive wins over a one-month span from Nov. 28 to Dec. 28, 2006, marking the longest win streak of Roberts' tenure. Last Monday's win over NJIT (Dec. 8) bested a four-game victory string that opened the 2007-08 season.

St. John's is 407-73 (.848) in 47-plus years at Carnesecca Arena, which received a $5 million facelift this offseason, with major improvements made to the seating bowl, concessions area, arena lobby and ticketing center. The Red Storm owns a 31-7 (.816) mark during the Norm Roberts Era in what was formerly known as Alumni Hall, including a 25-4 (.862) record against non-conference competition. The building, constructed in 1961, was re-named for St. John's Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca during the 2004-05 season. The Red Storm has posted a 6-0 record in its on-campus venue this season.

Thanks to high-flying sophomore Justin Burrell, the Red Storm added some extra excitement to a 82-54 victory over local-squad NJIT (Dec. 8). Running away with the contest less than four minutes into the second half, the powerful, athletic big man slammed down a transition dunk off a feed from classmate Paris Horne, snapping off a piece of the basket stanchion and causing a 35-minute delay with the power move. Horne, who led St. John's with a career-high 18 points in his fifth-career start, continues to develop, while floor general Malik Boothe netted 11 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists.

St. John's has put up impressive numbers in running out to a 7-1 early-season record. As a team, the Red Storm's field goal percentage (.471, 5th), blocked shots (5.0 per game, 6th) and rebounding margin (+8.0 per game, 6th) all rank among the BIG EAST's leaders.

Storm Tracker

A consistent contributor on both ends of the floor, D.J. Kennedy is currently the team's leader in scoring at 14.3 ppg and rebounding at 7.3 rpg. His 17-point, 13-rebound double-double against St. Francis (Dec. 1) marked his second double-double of the season and fourth of his career, and he now places 22nd among all BIG EAST players in scoring and 16th in rebounding. He has established new career highs in points, field goals, attempts, 3-points field goals and attempts, assists and blocked shots this season.

Sophomore forward Justin Burrell leads a deep crop of post returnees, coming off an outstanding freshman campaign in which he averaged 10.8 ppg and a team-leading 5.9 rebounds. His efforts were good enough to earn BIG EAST All-Rookie honors and a spot on the NABC All-District second team, and he this season he picked up where he left off as a freshman, averaging 11.4 ppg and 4.8 rpg. He spent part of the summer training at the Tarkanian Big Man Camp in Las Vegas with NBA stars Jermaine O'Neal and Al Harrington, among others.

Lightning-quick and relentless on the defensive end, Malik Boothe has taken over as full-time floor general. Boothe spent his entire offseason on campus - working on his jumpshot and bonding with teammates - and is proving to be a true STJ floor leader. He is averaging 9.3 ppg, and has 43 assists (5.4 per game), tied for third among all BIG EAST players. He is averaging 28.9 minutes in the Red Storm's first eight games.

Sean Evans, who steadily improved all season long as a freshman and drew starts in six contests, has started all eight games and is averaging 8.4 points, and his 5.1 rebounds per contest are second on the team. He has set new career highs in points, field goals, attempts, rebounds, steals and minutes.

Paris Horne played in all 30 contests as a freshman in 2007-08, coming off the bench to average 5.1 points per outing. He exploded down the home stretch last season, contributing 7.1 points over the last eight games, firing at a 51.4 percent clip (19-for-37) from the field and hitting at a 64.3 percent mark from long range (9-for-14). After missing the NIT game vs. Cornell with a right ankle sprain (Nov. 17), he bounced back to make his first five career starts in the last five contests, averaging 13.6 ppg, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 blocks while connecting on 50.0 percent of his field goals and 42.9 percent of his 3-pointers.

Sophomore center Dele Coker is still a tremendous 6-10 presence inside, but dropped close to 20 pounds in the offseason and will look to log heavy minutes in the post. The slimmed-down, 260-pound version of the Nigerian big man is playing with better quickness, and is averaging 4.5 ppg and 3.0 rpg.

Rob Thomas, now a redshirt sophomore after joining the Red Storm in uniform midway through the 2007-08 season, is also much-improved physically and is playing at 226 pounds. He scored eight points with eight rebounds (six offensive) against Howard, and followed that performance with a 13-point effort against Loyola (Ill.) in only 13 minutes. In the last five games, Thomas is averaging 6.0 ppg and 3.8 rpg while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor.

Anthony Mason Jr. will miss the remainder of the Red Storm basketball season, as a MRI on Nov. 21 revealed a torn peroneal tendon in his right foot that requires surgery. He averaged a team-best 14.0 ppg in 22 contests a season ago.

On Deck

The Holiday Festival is a pre-Christmas affair this season, on Dec. 20 and 21 at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm faces Marist at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, following a 2 p.m. matchup between Virginia Tech and Columbia. The consolation and championship games will be played on Sunday, at noon and 2:30 p.m., respectively.

St. John's University Athletics

STJ Closes Six-Game Queens Homestand With Bethune-Cookman

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Players Mentioned

Malik Boothe

Justin Burrell

Dele Coker

Sean Evans

Paris Horne

D.J. Kennedy

Anthony Mason Jr.

Rob Thomas

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