St. John’s Rolls Past Loyola Maryland, 76-55, in Season Opener

Tuesday, November 6

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

6:30 p.m.

St. John's University

1-0

Loyola Maryland

0-1

Loyola Maryland

St. John's

St. John’s Rolls Past Loyola Maryland, 76-55, in Season Opener

11/6/2018 9:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Shamorie Ponds leads the way with 20 points for the Johnnies

QUEENS, N.Y. – The most highly anticipated season in recent memory went off without a hitch for the St. John's men's basketball team on Tuesday night, as the Red Storm grabbed a big lead early and never looked back, downing Loyola Maryland, 76-55, at Carnesecca Arena.

Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year Shamorie Ponds lived up to the hype in his season debut, netting 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting. The junior guard, who shot 7-of-8 from two-point range, also dished out four assists and grabbed three steals in just 25 minutes of action. Ponds, who owns both the freshman and sophomore scoring records at St. John's, eclipsed the 20-point mark for the 28th time in his collegiate career.

Mustapha Heron did not disappoint in his first game Carnesecca Arena, posting 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including a 2-for-2 effort from beyond the arc. The Auburn transfer also grabbed seven rebounds and tallied three assists.

Mikey Dixon, one of four Johnnies to reach double figures, posted 13 points in his St. John's debut.

Despite being limited to just 23 minutes because of early foul trouble, Justin Simon still managed to stuff the stat sheet, as the redshirt junior guard from Temecula, Calif., registered 10 points, six rebounds.

LJ Figueroa narrowly missed a double-double in his first game as a Johnnie, scoring nine points on 4-of-8 shooting and grabbing eight boards. The former junior college All-American also dished out three assists and recorded three steals.

In all, seven Johnnies made their St. John's debuts on Tuesday, as Sedee Keita, Greg Williams Jr., Marcellus Earlington and Josh Roberts also donned the red and white for the first time.

The Red Storm quickly jumped out to an early lead, as Figueroa kicked off the scoring with an and-one before Heron and Ponds drained 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, giving the Johnnies a 9-0 lead with less than two and a half minutes gone in the contest.

After jumping ahead by as many as 13 at the midway mark of the half, the Johnnies saw the Greyhounds climb back within seven, 21-14, following a 6-0 spurt with 8:38 to play in the period. That was as close as Loyola would get the rest of the way, as the Red Storm steadily built upon its lead.

A Heron triple capped a 7-0 run to give the Red Storm a 19-point lead, 37-18, with just under four minutes to go in the half.

Ahead by the same 19-point margin, 42-23, with a minute and a half to play in the period, St. John's scored the final six points of the stanza on a Dixon and-one and a 35-foot buzzer beater from Ponds, authoritatively sending the Johnnies into the break with a 48-23 edge.

On the other side of the intermission, St. John's scored the second half's first eight points, extending its run to 14-0 and moving ahead by 33, 56-23, with less than three minutes gone in the period.

St. John's lead hovered in the area of 30 before Loyola clawed back within 21 with less than two minutes to play. That was as close as the Greyhounds would get, as the Johnnies closed out the contest with a 76-55 advantage.

St. John's returns to action on Friday night, hosting Bowling Green at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on FS2 and will be carried on 570 AM WMCA in the New York Metropolitan Area.