St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
8-21, 1-15
DePaul
9-18, 3-12
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 28 | 47 | 75 |
| DePaul | 45 | 38 | 83 |
Red Storm Falls at DePaul
2/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score | USATSI Photo Gallery 
ROSEMONT, Ill. - Despite having four players score double-digits, the St. John's men's basketball team suffered an 83-75 loss to DePaul (9-18, 3-12) on Thursday at Allstate Arena. Billy Garrett Jr. helped the Blue Demons fend off St. John's (8-21, 1-15) late rally, scoring 10 of his team-high 19 points in the second half.
Ron Mvouika (Paris, France) led the Red Storm with a season-high 20 points, while Durand Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) scored 15 points for his team-leading 20th double-digit scoring performance of the season. Johnson (5) and Mvouika (4) combined for nine of St. John's 10 3-pointers.
There were 11 lead changes in the opening 11 minutes before DePaul uncorked a 19-6 run to break a 17-17 tie. The Blue Demons carried a 17-point advantage into halftime after shooting a sweltering 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the field, including a 17-of-21 mark inside the 3-point arc.
Eli Cain, who had 25 points in the first meeting nine days ago, scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half. The freshman guard drained a 3-pointer 13 seconds before the break to give the Blue Demons a 45-28 advantage heading into the locker room.
The Red Storm fell behind by 21 less than two minutes into the second half after Myke Henry sank a 3 and Tommy Hamilton IV put DePaul up 50-29 with a midrange jumper. St. John's cut into the deficit with a 10-2 run midway through the stanza fueled by a pair of 3s by Johnson and Mvouika.
In the final three minutes, St. John's pressure defense led to quick buckets that helped the Red Storm get within six, 77-71, after Johnson nailed his fifth 3-pointer. But the Blue Demons converted all six free-throws on their last three trips to the line to hold off St. John's comeback bid.
Felix Balamou (Conakry, Guinea) handed out seven assists and Malik Ellison (Voorhees, N.J.) had six helpers to lead an 18-assist performance by the Red Storm. Christian Jones (Arlington, Texas) and Yankuba Sima (Girona, Spain) combined for 18 of St. John's 20 bench points with 10 and eight, respectively.
St. John's completes its two-game road stretch visiting Creighton on Sunday. Game time is slated for 2:30 p.m. eastern airing on FS1 and 570 AM WMCA.
