St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
7-8, 0-2BIGEAST
No. 12/13 Providence
14-1,2-0BIGEAST
St. John's Outlasted by No. 12/13 Providence
1/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score | Quotes | USATSI Photo Gallery 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - St. John's challenged No. 12/13 Providence (14-1, 2-0) at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Saturday before falling, 83-65, in the 107th all-time meeting with the Friars. The Red Storm battled back from an 18-point deficit to make it a six-point game midway through the second half, but Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Kris Dunn scored eight-straight points to help the Friars win their eighth-straight game. Dunn finished with a game-high 26 points.
Yankuba Sima (Girona, Spain) helped lead a spirited St. John's effort, posting team-highs with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds. Felix Balamou (Conakry, Guinea) added 11 points and three assists, while Amar Alibegovic (Rome, Italy) led the Red Storm bench with 10 points for his third double-figure scoring effort of the season.
"I thought our team battled. We got down and didn't give up," said St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin. "We got back into the game and made some big shots.
"Overall, I liked our effort and competiveness. All the credit to [Providence], they're one of the top teams in the country, but I liked the way my guys battled."
St. John's (7-8, 0-2) jumped out to a seven-point lead seven minutes into the first half after hitting eight of its first 11 field goal attempts. Graduate student Durand Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) capped a 9-1 run with a 3-pointer to send the Red Storm up 18-11. Johnson finished with eight points and four rebounds, and matched Dunn with a game-high three steals in 25 minutes off the bench.
The Friars caught fire from distance beginning with a pair of 3-pointers from Kyron Cartwright and Jalen Lindsey fueling a 10-0 run to reclaim the lead midway through the half. Providence drained five of its seven first half triples in the final 12 minutes and carried a 43-31 advantage into the break. Cartwright had 10 of his 11 points in the stanza.
After Providence opened a 49-31 lead just over two minutes into the second half, the Red Storm mounted a comeback which was jumpstarted by a Christian Jones (Arlington, Texas) three-point play. St. John's outscored the Friars 19-7 over the next eight minutes to trim the deficit to six with 9:32 to play.
Sima went to work on the interior scoring six of the Red Storm's next 10 points. Free-throws by Malik Ellison (Voorhees, N.J.) and Alibegovic cut Providence's lead to single digits, and then a jumper and free-throw by Johnson made it a 56-50 game.
Dunn ended Providence's seven minute field goal drought on the ensuing possession with a 3-pointer. The 6-foot-4 guard scored the Friars next eight points to reopen a double-digit advantage. Ben Bentil, the BIG EAST's leading scorer, tacked on 13 of his 20 points in the final six minutes to help Providence pull away.
"He's one of the best players in the country," said Mullin about Dunn. "He has the total package. He can post-up, hit the three, and play off the dribble. He's an impressive player."
Freshman forward Kassoum Yakwe (Bamako, Mali) and Jones each finished with seven points for St. John's. Rodney Bullock was the fourth Friar to post double-digits in the scoring column with 13 points.
St. John's returns to action on Wednesday hosting No. 6/6 Xavier (13-1, 1-1) at Carnesecca Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. for a national telecast airing on FS1.
