St. John’s Blows by Wagner, 86-63

Saturday, November 30

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

6-2

Wagner

2-5

Wagner

St. John's

11/30/2019 3:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Postgame Quotes VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference VIDEO: Highlights Photo Gallery

Senior Guard Mustapha Heron scores 18 points to lead four Red Storm players in double figures

QUEENS, N.Y. – Kicking off a five-game homestand against Wagner on Saturday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena, the St. John's men's basketball team used a balanced scoring effort to cruise past the Seahawks, 86-63.

With the win, the Johnnies improved to 6-2 on the year, including a 5-1 mark in Queens.

Despite playing just 16 minutes due to foul trouble, Mustapha Heron scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 3-for-6 effort from three-point range. The senior guard also dished out three assists and blocked a shot in his limited time on the court.

Rasheem Dunn, one of four Johnnies to finish in double figures on the afternoon, tallied 14 points and a pair of assists.

Sophomore forward Josh Roberts fell one rebound shy of his first career double-double, tallying 12 points and nine boards. Roberts, the team's leader in field goal percentage this season, drained six of his seven chances from the floor.

Roberts' front court partner, freshman Julian Champagnie, posted 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting to along with a season-high four steals. The Brooklyn native made all four of his field goal chances from inside the three-point arc.

After missing his first seven field goal attempts of the day, LJ Figueroa drained a pair of late triples to finish with six points, six rebounds and six assists, the last of which tied a career-high for the junior.

Marcellus Earlington tallied nine points and four boards while Nick Rutherford also stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, three assists and two steals.

As a team, St. John's shot 49.3 percent from the floor and recorded assists on 23 of its 33 made baskets. The Johnnies forced Wagner into 21 turnovers on the afternoon, converting those miscues into 23 points. In a matchup of two teams that like to push the pace, St. John's outscored Wagner, 29-3, in fast-break situations.

All 10 of the Red Storm's scholarship players to see the floor on Saturday afternoon scored a point.

The Johnnies wasted no time building their lead, rattling off an 8-0 run in the opening two minutes of action.

Following a stretch of back-and-forth basketball, the Red Storm scored 13 unanswered between the eight-minute and four-minute marks of the first half, holding Wagner without a bucket for more than five minutes and jumping out to a 20-point lead, 34-14, at the final media timeout of the period.

Dunn scored the final five points of the opening half in the closing minute of play, giving the Johnnies a 43-19 lead heading into the locker room.

After trailing by as many as 28, Wagner used a 9-2 run to pull within 19, 54-35, with six minutes gone in the second half. That was as close as the Seahawks would get the rest of the way, as the Red Storm held on for a 23-point victory in front of the Red Storm faithful.

The Red Storm will return to action on Tuesday night at Carnesecca Arena, playing host to the Peacocks of Saint Peter's. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on FS1 and 970 AM WNYM. Tickets are available by visiting RedStormTix.com.