St. John’s Pulls Away from New Hampshire, 74-61

Tuesday, November 12

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

3-0

New Hampshire

2-1

New Hampshire

St. John's

11/12/2019 10:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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LJ Figueroa matches a career high with 25 points in addition to pulling down eight boards

QUEENS, N.Y. (Nov. 12, 2019) – Led by 25 points from LJ Figueroa, the St. John's men's basketball team used a late run to pull away from New Hampshire, 74-61, and remain unbeaten on the young season at Carnesecca Arena on Tuesday night.

Figueroa, whose 25 points matched a career high set early last season against Maryland Eastern Shore, also grabbed eight rebounds and swiped five steals in the win. The junior wing connected on five of his nine three-point attempts, marking his second straight outing with five made triples.

The Red Storm (3-0) led by just three with six and a half minutes to go before blowing the game open with a 12-0 run. Julian Champagnie scored seven points on the tear, including a thunderous put-back dunk off a missed free throw and an old-fashioned three-point play. Figueroa added the other five points during the decisive spurt.

Champagnie scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds, both of which were season-highs for the freshman in his third collegiate game. The Bishop Loughlin product also blocked a shot, marking his third outing in as many chances with at least one rejection.

Sophomore forward Josh Roberts finished in double figures for the first time as a member of the Red Storm, scoring a career-high 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The Troy, Ala., native also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked four shots for the third straight game.

David Caraher added nine points on 3-of-6 shooting, including a 2-for-4 showing from three-point range. Marcellus Earlington also connected on three of his six tries from the floor, finishing with eight points and four boards.

Despite scoring only five points on an off-shooting night, Mustapha Heron matched a career high with five assists while surrendering just one turnover. Heron had scored 25 and 30 points, respectively, in his first two games on the season.

Nick Rutherford dished out five assists and grabbed six boards in 31 minutes of action.

The Red Storm has now started the year with three straight wins in each of the last five seasons and six of the last seven campaigns overall.

Both squads got off to a hot shooting start on Tuesday night, as each sank four of their first six attempts during the opening four minutes of action.

Leading 8-7 after a Roberts' layup with 17:04 to play, St. John's went without a point for nearly six minutes and committed four turnovers during that stretch. New Hampshire (2-1) would build its lead to as many as 12, 23-11, near the midway mark of the half.

From there, the Red Storm came alive, unleashing a 12-3 run to pull within three, 26-23, on an Earlington layup with 5:43 to play in the period. Roberts added four points on the run, while Figueroa and Caraher chipped in three apiece.

New Hampshire used a pair of threes to move back ahead by nine, but the Johnnies outscored the Wildcats by a 13-2 margin over the final four minutes to half to take a two-point lead, 36-34, into the locker room. Figueroa scored nine points on the run, sinking a pair of triples and converting on an old-fashioned three-point play.

With the game tied at 42 and just about five minutes gone in the second half, the Red Storm unleashed an 11-1 run to take its first double-digit lead of the evening. Earlington scored four points on the spurt before Caraher punctuated it with a wide-open triple from the top of the key.

New Hampshire would not go quietly, whittling the St. John's lead down to three, 57-54, on a Nick Guadarrama three-ball with 6:39 to go.

From there, the Red Storm put the game out of reach with that decisive 12-0 run. Champagnie kicked off the scoring with a long two before Figueroa drained a three and made a layup through contact. Figueroa could not convert on the three-point play, but Champagnie was there to clean up the free throw miss with a thunderous slam. The freshman would then cap the run with a three-point play of his own, putting the Red Storm ahead by 15 with less than five minutes to go.

The Red Storm will continue its season-opening homestand on Saturday afternoon, playing host to Vermont at 4 p.m. inside Carnesecca Arena. Vermont, who already owns road wins this season over St. Bonaventure and Bucknell, won 27 games a year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the America East.

Saturday's contest with Vermont will kick off a stretch that could see the Johnnies play as many as three NCAA Tournament teams in their next four games. The Red Storm will host Columbia on Nov. 20 before taking on Arizona State at Mohegan Sun on Nov. 23. The Red Storm could potentially meet defending national champion Virginia the following day in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.