St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Takes On Fordham Thursday in Queens
12/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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QUEENS, N.Y. - Coming off wins over Tulane and Cal State Northridge, the St. John's men's basketball team will try for its third victory in seven days on Thursday when the Johnnies take on Fordham (5-4) at Carnesecca Arena. The 88th edition of one of the oldest college basketball rivalries in New York City that dates back to 1909 will tipoff at 6:30 p.m. in Queens on FS1.
FOX Sports announcers Rich Ackerman and Donny Marshall will call the national telecast. The game will also be carried over the airwaves on 570 AM WMCA featuring St. John's IMG Radio broadcast team of John Minko and Vin Parise.
The Johnnies will look to take another step in the right direction on Thursday, aiming to get back to .500 and balance out the early season struggles of one of the youngest teams in the nation. Over the past two games, St. John's has used consistent defensive efforts and sharp shooting from 3-point range to earn a pair of confidence-building victories.
The Red Storm (4-5) recorded 85.5 points per game in the last two contests with four players averaging double-figures. As a team, the Johnnies shot better from distance than inside the 3-point arc as they nailed 26 threes and shot 56.5 percent from downtown.
Shamorie Ponds has helped lead the charge during the recent win streak, averaging 20.0 points per game by shooting a sweltering 60.9 percent from the field with seven 3-pointers. The BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year also distributed the ball well handing out a team-high nine assists during the two-game stretch, including a career-high five helpers against CSUN on Monday.
Fellow first-year player Bashir Ahmed contributed 15.0 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds in two starts while Federico Mussini provided a spark off the bench by going 7-for-11 from 3-point range.
St. John's has played some of its best basketball this season at Carnesecca Arena where it owns a 3-1 record. On Monday, the Johnnies grinded out a 76-70 victory over CSUN despite the absence of the team's leading scorer Marcus LoVett, who was sidelined with an injury. Ponds stepped up for the Red Storm and exploded for career-highs with 25 points and five assists.
Fordham, who has yet to win a game away from home this season, enters the contest on the heels of three-straight losses, most recently falling to Harvard on Saturday afternoon in Cambridge. Prior to that, the Rams dropped home tilts against UT Arlington and Sacred Heart.
Despite attempting more than 26 3-pointers per game on average, the Rams have made just 31.5 pct of their chances from beyond the arc this season. Fordham also ranks near the bottom of the NCAA in field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin, allowing its opponents to make 48.5 pct of their chances from the field and suffering a -9.2 rebounding margin on the boards.
Sophomore point guard Joseph Chartouny, the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year who missed Saturday's loss to the Crimson, has been solid again for the Rams this season, averaging 12.6 points per game and ranking 11th in the nation with 6.6 assists per contest. The Montreal native also ranks second in the NCAA with 3.6 steals per outing.
Graduate student Javontae Hawkins has been the Rams' leading scorer this season, pouring in 14.6 points and grabbing a team-high 4.8 boards per game. Two other Rams are averaging double figures, as Christian Sengfelder has netted 12.1 points per outing while Antwoine Anderson has added 11.6 per appearance.
After hosting Fordham, the Red Storm returns to action Sunday at Barclays Center against LIU Brooklyn in the BROOKLYN HOOPS Winter Festival doubleheader.
