St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Hosts NJIT on Sunday at Carnesecca Arena
12/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's continues a stretch of three games in five days on Sunday when the Red Storm welcomes local opponent NJIT to Carnesecca Arena for a noon tip. The Red Storm looks to pick up its fourth win over a five-game homestand before heading to Mohegan Sun Arena for the Hall of Fame Shootout on Tuesday.
Dave Sims and Tarik Turner will call the action for the national telecast on FS1. The St. John's radio broadcast with John Minko can be heard on 970 AM WNYM or through the TuneIn app.
St. John's (7-4) has a quick turnaround providing the team an opportunity to get back on the winning track less than 48 hours after having its three-game win streak snapped by Incarnate Word. The Red Storm has won all four of its previous meetings with the Highlanders in a series that began in 2006.
Durand Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) led St. John's on Friday with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Yankuba Sima (Girona, Spain) also put up solid numbers with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go with five rebounds and four blocks. However, the Red Storm was tripped up by the Cardinals' 11 3-pointers (45.8 pct), despite entering the game limiting its pervious opponents to a 29.1 shooting percentage from distance at Carnesecca Arena.
Johnson, Sima and freshman guard Federico Mussini (Reggio Emilia, Italy) have been the Red Storm's top performers helping the team win three of the last four. Johnson has averaged a team-high 13.0 points per game with nine 3-pointers during the stretch, while the freshmen guard-center combo of Mussini and Sima continue to play big minutes for the Red Storm.
Mussini, the team's leading scorer (13.6 ppg) and one of the top shooters in the BIG EAST, leads the conference and Division I freshmen playing 34.7 minutes per game. Sima climbed to second in the nation averaging 3.6 blocks per game to go with a his team-best 6.6 rebounds per contest.
NJIT (6-5) comes to Queens averaging 76.2 points per game with a core group of six upperclassmen combining for 94 percent of the scoring offense. The Highlanders are 2-4 on the road with wins coming at South Florida and St. Francis Brooklyn. Damon Lynn, a 5-foot-11 junior guard, leads the team averaging 17.3 points per game.
About the Series with NJIT
- St. John's owns a 4-0 record versus NJIT with all four wins coming at Carnesecca Arena.
- Three of the Red Storm's four victories over the Highlanders have been by double-digit margins.
- The Red Storm defeated NJIT, 77-58, in the 2014-15 season opener.
