St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Meets Syracuse Saturday at the Carrier Dome
12/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's men's basketball team visits the Carrier Dome Saturday to square off with Syracuse at 5:15 p.m. The 89th meeting between the former conference rivals will air live on ESPN2 with announcers Adam Amin and Shane Battier on the call. The St. John's radio broadcast with John Minko and Vin Parise can be heard on 570 AM (WMCA).
St. John's (5-1) matched is best start of the Steve Lavin Era after earning its fourth double-digit victory of the season Tuesday defeating Niagara, 70-57, at Carnesecca Arena. D'Angelo Harrison led the Red Storm in scoring for the third time in the last five games with 16 points against the Purple Eagles. The senior guard, who ranks ninth on the program's career scoring list, reached the 1,700-point plateau in the victory.
Jamal Branch and Myles Stewart were also key performers against Niagara in their first starts of the season. Branch contributed 12 points on a 5-for-6 shooting night and matched a season-high six assists, while fan favorite Stewart buried a game-high three 3-pointers and swatted three shots in 19 minutes of work.
The Red Storm makes its second trip to the Carrier Dome under Lavin and first trip since 2012-13. St. John's looks for its first win over the Orange in Central New York in nearly 16 years.
Things To Know
· St. John's has elevated its offensive production in the second half this season. The Red Storm is averaging 39.5 points on a 48.1 shooting percentage (77-of-160) in the final 20 minutes, compared to its 34.3 points and 39.9 percent (75-of-188) field goal mark in the first half. Sir'Dominic Pointer has done most of his work in the second half this season averaging 7.2 points shooting 18-for-25 (72.0 percent) from the field, to go with a team leading 4.5 assist/turnover ratio (10.7 ppg, 54.2 FG% season stats). Jamal Branch has also had a hot shooting hand in the second half hitting 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) attempts.
· Freshman walk-on Myles Stewart earned his first career start Tuesday against Niagara. Stewart took advantage of the opportunity scoring nine points hitting three 3-pointers, while matching Chris Obekpa with a game-high three blocks in 19 minutes of action. St. John's head coach Steve Lavin commented postgame on Stewart's game, "Myles keeps it simple. He either shoots it or keeps the ball moving along with an occasional prudent use of the bounce. Like an old fashioned donut - no glaze, sprinkles or chocolate - a good old fashioned donut."
· St. John's combined for just 12 3-pointers and shot 22.6 percent (12-of-53) from long range in its first four games, but has drained 16 treys and posted a 36.4 percent mark (16-of-44) in the past two contests. Myles Stewart has made 50.0 percent (4-of-8) of his long range attempts in the past two games, while Phil Greene IV has shot 41.7 percent (5-of-12).
· Boosted by a defense that ranks tied for seventh in the nation with a league-leading 7.0 blocks per game, St. John's has held opponents to a BIG EAST leading 36.2 percent shooting from the floor, which ranks 27th nationally. The Red Storm has limited its opposition to 30.0 percent or less from the field in three games this season, including NJIT's 28.3 field goal percentage in the season-opener (Nov. 14).
· D'Angelo Harrison surpassed the 1,700-point plateau with a 16-point effort against Niagara (Dec. 2) and now has 1,706 points in 98 career games. The third-leading active scorer in the NCAA, Harrison trails just Tyler Haws of BYU (2,134 points) and Chasson Randle of Stanford (1,757). Harrison also ranks seventh among active players with a career scoring average of 17.4 and third with 472 free throws made. Harrison is just 21 points shy of tying Glen Williams (1,727) for eighth place on the all-time St. John's scoring list.
About the Series
· St. John's and Syracuse meet for the first time at the Carrier Dome as non-conference opponents on Saturday. The Red Storm looks for its first win at Syracuse since defeating the Orange 75-70 on Jan. 27, 1999. Syracuse has won 55 consecutive out-of-conference games at the Carrier Dome, the second longest active streak in NCAA Division I.
· The programs square off for the 89th time in a series that dates back to 1912. The Red Storm earned 20 of its 37 wins against Syracuse as members of the BIG EAST Conference.
· The Red Storm's last victory over Syracuse was on Jan. 21, 2007 at Carnesecca Arena. Anthony Mason, Jr. had a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) to lead the Red Storm to a 64-60 win.
