St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
21-11
Providence
22-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's (N.Y.) | 27 | 30 | 57 |
| Providence College | 40 | 34 | 74 |
St. John's Falls Short to Providence, 74-57
3/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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NEW YORK -St. John's swept the regular season series against Providence, but could not make it three-straight as the Friars defeated the Red Storm, 74-57, in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
Rysheed Jordan scored a team-high 18 points to lead St. John's (21-11), which was held to a season-low 31.0 percent (18-of-58) from the floor and 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from long range. Phil Greene IV added nine points, while Jamal Branch, D'Angelo Harrison and Sir'Dominic Pointer finished with seven each.
"There are going to be days where your offense is not clicking, but we were disappointed with our aggressiveness on defense and rebounding," said St. John's Head Coach Steve Lavin. "We have to address the deficiencies we saw today and turn our focus to improving as a team to enhance the chances of doing something special in the postseason."
LaDontae Henton was one of three players to record a double-double for Providence (22-10), finishing with a game-high 20 points to go with 12 boards. Ben Bentil contributed 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Kris Dunn added 17 points and 11 assists. The Friars shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) from the floor and made 6-of-12 3-pointers.
Down by 13 at the break, St. John's worked quickly to trim the margin to eight, 42-34, on a Harrison jumper with 17:28 to play. After Henton's 3-pointer pushed the Providence lead to 14, Jordan answered with a 3 of his own, before a 10-0 run gave the Friars their largest advantage of the game at 61-40.
Greene answered with back-to-back 3s and a Jordan steal led to a fastbreak layup to cap an 8-0 spurt that cut the deficit to 13. Branch's 3-pointer then brought the Red Storm within 11 points, but the team would not get closer.
St. John's made its first two baskets and a Harrison 3-pointer at the 17:10 mark capped a game-opening 7-0 run. The Friars answered, however, with 18-straight points and led 18-7 with 11:30 left before the break.
Four-straight free throws from Pointer and Jordan trimmed the deficit to seven, but a 10-0 Friar rally pushed the lead to 28-11 with just 7:17 on the clock. Providence led by as many as 18 in the first half and the Red Storm trailed by 13, 40-27, at the break.
