St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, November 9
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
4 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Central Connecticut State
St. John’s Returns to Action with Central Connecticut State on Saturday
11/8/2019 12:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm hosts Blue Devils at 4 p.m. inside Carnesecca Arena
QUEENS, N.Y. – After opening the Mike Anderson Era with a convincing win against Mercer on Wednesday night, the Red Storm will return to action Saturday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena, welcoming Central Connecticut State for a 4 p.m. tip.
The contest will be broadcast live nationally on FS2 with Dave Sims and Len Elmore on the call. The game can also be heard on the St. John's Sports Network from Learfield IMG College, available in the New York Metropolitan Area on 570 AM WMCA. John Minko and Brandon Tierney will call the action, which fans can also access through the TuneIn app and Sirius XM Streaming Channel 988.
Playing its first regular season game under the direction of Anderson, the Red Storm tied for the second highest point total in a season-opener in program history, defeating Mercer by score of 109-79. Only the 1986-87 Johnnies, who scored 126 points against Southern University to open that campaign, have ever scored more in a season debut. Anderson also saw his team score register more points in his first game than any of the other 20 coaches in St. John's history. Mike Jarvis' Red Storm scored 105 during his first game in 1998 while Brian Mahoney's squad posted 101 in 1992.
Five players reached double figures in a well-balanced St. John's scoring attack on Wednesday night. Mustapha Heron netted a game-high 25 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the floor, including a 4-for-6 showing from three-point range. LJ Figueroa tallied 18 points and four steals while Marcellus Earlington added 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. As a freshman last season, Earlington totaled just 31 points in 15 appearances. Nick Rutherford posted 14 points, eight assists and three steals while another player making his St. John's debut, David Caraher added 12 points and seven boards.
Josh Roberts also tallied nine points and seven rebounds while Julian Champagnie finished with eight points and eight boards in his collegiate debut. The last Brooklyn native to play for the Red Storm, Shamorie Ponds, also scored eight points in his first game as a Johnnie on Nov. 11, 2016, against Bethune-Cookman.
The Red Storm pushed the pace all-game long, scoring 40 of their 109 points in fast-break situations and forcing 24 Mercer turnovers. The Johnnies converted those 24 extra possessions off Mercer turnovers into 30 points. The Red Storm recorded 11 steals, including four from Figueroa, who finished third in the conference a year ago with 1.8 thefts per outing.
Saturday's game will be the second in a five-game Queens homestand to open the season. The Johnnies last started a campaign with five or more consecutive games on campus in 2005-06.
Central Connecticut comes to Queens on the heels of a 74-59 loss to Hartford in the team's home opener on Tuesday. The Blue Devils trailed by only three at halftime before the Hawks pulled away late.
Both of the Blue Devils to finish in double figures were freshmen, as Greg Outlaw and Jamir Reed scored 13 points apiece. Overall, seven of the 15 players on the Central Connecticut roster are in their first year of collegiate basketball.
The Blue Devils are coached by 1994 BIG EAST Player of the Year and 15-year NBA veteran Donyell Marshall.
Bryan Heron, the father of St. John's senior Mustapha Heron, starred at CCSU for four years from 1985-89. He scored 1,558 points during his playing days in New Britain, good enough for ninth on the program's all-time scoring list.
St. John's is 2-0 all-time against Central Connecticut, including an 80-55 win over the Blue Devils two seasons ago at Carnesecca Arena. The lone other meeting between CCSU and the Johnnies etched the Blue Devils in the St. John's record books, as Malik Sealy scored 43 points in 135-92 victory on Nov. 24, 1990. Those 135 points are the highest single-game total in program history while Sealy's 43 points stood as a Carnesecca Arena/Alumni Hall mark for nearly three decades before Ponds netted 44 against Marquette on Feb. 10, 2018.
After hosting the Blue Devils, St. John's will return to action on Tuesday night when it welcome the University of New Hampshire to Carnesecca Arena.
The contest will be broadcast live nationally on FS2 with Dave Sims and Len Elmore on the call. The game can also be heard on the St. John's Sports Network from Learfield IMG College, available in the New York Metropolitan Area on 570 AM WMCA. John Minko and Brandon Tierney will call the action, which fans can also access through the TuneIn app and Sirius XM Streaming Channel 988.
Playing its first regular season game under the direction of Anderson, the Red Storm tied for the second highest point total in a season-opener in program history, defeating Mercer by score of 109-79. Only the 1986-87 Johnnies, who scored 126 points against Southern University to open that campaign, have ever scored more in a season debut. Anderson also saw his team score register more points in his first game than any of the other 20 coaches in St. John's history. Mike Jarvis' Red Storm scored 105 during his first game in 1998 while Brian Mahoney's squad posted 101 in 1992.
Five players reached double figures in a well-balanced St. John's scoring attack on Wednesday night. Mustapha Heron netted a game-high 25 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the floor, including a 4-for-6 showing from three-point range. LJ Figueroa tallied 18 points and four steals while Marcellus Earlington added 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. As a freshman last season, Earlington totaled just 31 points in 15 appearances. Nick Rutherford posted 14 points, eight assists and three steals while another player making his St. John's debut, David Caraher added 12 points and seven boards.
Josh Roberts also tallied nine points and seven rebounds while Julian Champagnie finished with eight points and eight boards in his collegiate debut. The last Brooklyn native to play for the Red Storm, Shamorie Ponds, also scored eight points in his first game as a Johnnie on Nov. 11, 2016, against Bethune-Cookman.
The Red Storm pushed the pace all-game long, scoring 40 of their 109 points in fast-break situations and forcing 24 Mercer turnovers. The Johnnies converted those 24 extra possessions off Mercer turnovers into 30 points. The Red Storm recorded 11 steals, including four from Figueroa, who finished third in the conference a year ago with 1.8 thefts per outing.
Saturday's game will be the second in a five-game Queens homestand to open the season. The Johnnies last started a campaign with five or more consecutive games on campus in 2005-06.
Central Connecticut comes to Queens on the heels of a 74-59 loss to Hartford in the team's home opener on Tuesday. The Blue Devils trailed by only three at halftime before the Hawks pulled away late.
Both of the Blue Devils to finish in double figures were freshmen, as Greg Outlaw and Jamir Reed scored 13 points apiece. Overall, seven of the 15 players on the Central Connecticut roster are in their first year of collegiate basketball.
The Blue Devils are coached by 1994 BIG EAST Player of the Year and 15-year NBA veteran Donyell Marshall.
Bryan Heron, the father of St. John's senior Mustapha Heron, starred at CCSU for four years from 1985-89. He scored 1,558 points during his playing days in New Britain, good enough for ninth on the program's all-time scoring list.
St. John's is 2-0 all-time against Central Connecticut, including an 80-55 win over the Blue Devils two seasons ago at Carnesecca Arena. The lone other meeting between CCSU and the Johnnies etched the Blue Devils in the St. John's record books, as Malik Sealy scored 43 points in 135-92 victory on Nov. 24, 1990. Those 135 points are the highest single-game total in program history while Sealy's 43 points stood as a Carnesecca Arena/Alumni Hall mark for nearly three decades before Ponds netted 44 against Marquette on Feb. 10, 2018.
After hosting the Blue Devils, St. John's will return to action on Tuesday night when it welcome the University of New Hampshire to Carnesecca Arena.
Players Mentioned
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