St. John's University Athletics
St. John's to Face Missouri in Advocare Invitational Semifinal
11/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ORLANDO, Fla. - After storming back to down Oregon State on Thursday afternoon in its opening game of The Advocare Invitational, the St. John's men's basketball team (5-0) will be back in action Friday morning, taking on the Missouri Tigers (4-1) at 11 a.m.
The game will be broadcast on ESPNews and the WatchESPN app with Mike Morgan and Tim Welsh on the call. The contest can also be heard on 970 AM WNYM and the TuneIn Radio app with John Minko and Brandon Tierney bringing you the action live from ESPN's Wide World of Sports.
Trailing by double digits with less than 10 minutes to go in the game, the Red Storm battled back with a vengeance on Thursday afternoon against Oregon State. The Johnnies rattled off a 17-2 run in the waning minutes of the contest to down the Beavers, 82-77, and earn a spot in the winner's bracket of The Advocare Invitational.
Shamorie Ponds led the way with a season-high 26 points, converting on all 15 of his tries from the charity stripe, 13 of which came in the latter stanza. The Brooklyn native became just the 14th player in the 110-year history of the program and the first since Marcus Hatten in 2002 to record 15 or more free throws in a single game. The sophomore also dished out a game-high six assists and recorded two steals while surrendering no turnovers in 31 minutes.
As a team, the Johnnies forced 21 Oregon State turnovers including 14 steals, the team's highest total in that category since Nov. 26, 2014, against Minnesota in the Preseason NIT. Justin Simon registered six of those steals, setting a new career-high. Marcus LoVett added three, while Ponds and Marvin Clark II each chipped in a pair. As a team, the Red Storm surrendered just six turnovers on the contest, bumping their turnover margin to a phenomenal +9.6 on the season.
Missouri moved into the winner's bracket following a lopsided 95-58 victory over Long Beach State on Thursday morning.
Following an off-day on Saturday, the Red Storm will face either No. 23 West Virginia or UCF on Sunday depending on how Friday plays out.
