St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
21-12
No. 8 San Diego State
27-8
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's (N.Y.) | 33 | 31 | 64 |
| San Diego State | 40 | 36 | 76 |
St. John's Season Ends In NCAA Tournament Second Round
3/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score| Photo Gallery 1
| Photo Gallery 2|VIDEO: Postgame Highlights & Press Conference
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the past five seasons, ninth-seeded St. John's saw its second-straight 20-win campaign come to a close with a 76-64 loss to eighth-seeded San Diego State. St. John's finished 21-12, matching the program's most wins in 15 years, and also marking the third 20-win campaign in the last five years.
Sir'Dominic Pointer recorded game-highs with 21 points and 10 rebounds to secure his ninth double-double of the season for the Red Storm. D'Angelo Harrison finished with 18 points, while Rysheed Jordan added 10 points. Phil Greene IV chipped in with nine points and Jamal Branch added six.
St. John's shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from the floor, but could not keep pace with the Aztecs 40.9 percent (9-of-22) effort from long range. The Red Storm converted only 3-of-17 3-point attempts.
"They fought and showed grit right to the last possessions of the game," said St. John's head coach Steve Lavin.
JJ O'Brien scored 18 points hitting 8-of-12 field goal attempts to lead San Diego State (27-8), the Mountain West Conference regular-season champion, to its fifth win in the last six games. Dwayne Polee II added 15 points and made 5-of-7 3-pointers, while Matt Shrigley finished with 12 points and drained 4-of-5 treys.
Trailing by 14 with 14:14 to play, St. John's went on a 7-0 run to cut its deficit in half. Harrison hit three free-throws, Jordan threw down a one handed slam and then Branch's layup made it a 55-48 ballgame with 10:21 on the clock. The Aztecs outscored St. John's 10-5 over the next six minutes and used Shrigley's fourth 3-pointer to push the lead to 12 at 4:33. Eight San Diego State free-throws in the last two minutes sealed the game.
The lead changed sides 10 times in the first half and the Red Storm led by five with 10 minutes to go in the stanza. Harrison's layup capped a 13-1 run that gave St. John's a 19-14 advantage. Pointer poured in 11 of his 21 points in the first nine minutes of play as he sank five of his first six field goal attempts.
Shrigley answered with back-to-back threes fueling a 17-6 counter attack to go up 31-25 with 4:13 left in the half. Despite a 50 percent (15-of-30) field goal shooting mark for the Red Storm in the first half, the Aztecs carried a 40-33 advantage into the break.
Harrison (2,178), Greene (1,243) and Pointer (1,078) finished their four-year careers at St. John's with a combined 4,499 points in 385 appearances for the Red Storm. The senior trio along with classmates Branch and Khadim Ndiaye together helped lead St. John's to 58 wins and three consecutive postseason appearances over the past three years in Queens.
"I'm proud of this group of seniors for taking us on this ride and restoring pride in St. John's by getting us back to the NCAA Tournament. They've represented the University in a first-class manner," said Lavin. "This has been the most gratifying year of my coaching career because of the opportunity to participate in this senior class' journey."
