St. John's University Athletics
Thursday, February 28
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
6:30 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Xavier
St. John’s to Welcome Xavier for Regular Season Home Finale
2/27/2019 4:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Red Storm and Musketeers to tip off at 6:30 p.m. on FS1 and 970 AM WNYM
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team will take the floor at home for the final time this regular season on Thursday night, welcoming Xavier to Carnesecca Arena for a 6:30 p.m. tip.
The contest, the first of two in the span of three games between the Red Storm and Musketeers to end the regular season, will be televised on FS1 with Brian Custer and Sarah Kustok on the call. The game will also be carried on 970 AM WNYM, as John Minko and Tarik Turner will deliver the action live from Queens.
St. John's, having recently eclipsed the 20-win plateau for the first time under Head Coach Chris Mullin, will look to close out the Carnesecca Arena portion of its schedule with a record of 11-1. The Johnnies' only loss in Queens so far this season came without Shamorie Ponds in the lineup, as the team's leading scorer was sidelined with a lower back strain in a Jan. 12 loss to DePaul. The Red Storm has played some of its best basketball of the season at its on-campus home, averaging 82.8 points per game on 48.8 percent shooting from the floor and a 40.7 success rate from 3-point range. The Johnnies will play in front of their sixth consecutive sellout crowd in Queens and their seventh in the last eight games hosted on campus.
A win on Thursday night would also help the Red Storm (20-8, 8-7 BIG EAST) create some separation in the conference standings. The winners of four straight coming off a dominant victory at home on Sunday against Villanova, the Musketeers enter the contest with an overall record of 15-13 and sit just one game behind St. John's with a conference mark of 7-8. Xavier is currently tied for fourth with Seton Hall, who is idle until a Saturday evening tilt at Georgetown, who could also pull into a fourth place tie with win over DePaul on Wednesday night in the nation's capital.
The Red Storm has won three straight games at home and three of its last four overall. The Johnnies outlasted Butler in overtime on Feb. 12 in Carnesecca Arena before topping then-No. 13 Villanova and cross-rival Seton Hall in consecutive contests at "The World's Most Famous Arena."
Shamorie Ponds led the way for St. John's in the team's most recent win against Seton Hall, posting game highs of 27 points, five assists and five steals. His efforts, which followed a three-game stretch that saw score just 29 total points, earned Ponds a spot on Monday's BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. The Brooklyn native's 16th 20-point outing of the season moved him into a tie with David Russell for eighth on the program's all-time scoring list (1,753) and has positioned Ponds within 10 points of tying George Johnson for seventh place. Ponds is one of just two players in program history alongside Mullin to rank in the top 10 in scoring, assists and steals.
Marvin Clark II also snapped out of an offensive funk on Saturday, draining six of his 10 field goal attempts and four of his eight tries from behind the arc. Playing in Madison Square Garden for the final time in a regular season game, Clark exploded for 18 points on Senior Night in front of a large contingent of family from Kansas City.
Clark also played a role in a stout defensive effort for the Red Storm on Saturday, tying a career high with three steals. As a team, the Red Storm recorded 12 steals and forced 22 Seton Hall turnovers in total. Those 22 turnovers, tied for the second highest output of the season by a St. John's opponent, resulted in 28 points for the Johnnies. St. John's also registered 12 blocks, shattering its previous season high of seven logged on Jan. 12 against DePaul. Freshmen Greg Williams Jr. and Marcellus Earlington tallied three rejections apiece against the Pirates, while Sedee Keita tied a career high with four swats of his own.
Starting BIG EAST play with just four wins in their first 11 outings, the Xavier Musketeers have been red hot over the last two weeks, rattling off victories against Creighton, Providence, Seton Hall and Villanova. Naji Marshall, the team's leading scorer at 14.4 points per game, tallied 17 points and seven rebounds on Sunday against the defending national champs.
The Red Storm will wrap its regular season with a pair of road contests, traveling to DePaul on Sunday before heading to Cintas Center for another matchup with Xavier.
The contest, the first of two in the span of three games between the Red Storm and Musketeers to end the regular season, will be televised on FS1 with Brian Custer and Sarah Kustok on the call. The game will also be carried on 970 AM WNYM, as John Minko and Tarik Turner will deliver the action live from Queens.
St. John's, having recently eclipsed the 20-win plateau for the first time under Head Coach Chris Mullin, will look to close out the Carnesecca Arena portion of its schedule with a record of 11-1. The Johnnies' only loss in Queens so far this season came without Shamorie Ponds in the lineup, as the team's leading scorer was sidelined with a lower back strain in a Jan. 12 loss to DePaul. The Red Storm has played some of its best basketball of the season at its on-campus home, averaging 82.8 points per game on 48.8 percent shooting from the floor and a 40.7 success rate from 3-point range. The Johnnies will play in front of their sixth consecutive sellout crowd in Queens and their seventh in the last eight games hosted on campus.
A win on Thursday night would also help the Red Storm (20-8, 8-7 BIG EAST) create some separation in the conference standings. The winners of four straight coming off a dominant victory at home on Sunday against Villanova, the Musketeers enter the contest with an overall record of 15-13 and sit just one game behind St. John's with a conference mark of 7-8. Xavier is currently tied for fourth with Seton Hall, who is idle until a Saturday evening tilt at Georgetown, who could also pull into a fourth place tie with win over DePaul on Wednesday night in the nation's capital.
The Red Storm has won three straight games at home and three of its last four overall. The Johnnies outlasted Butler in overtime on Feb. 12 in Carnesecca Arena before topping then-No. 13 Villanova and cross-rival Seton Hall in consecutive contests at "The World's Most Famous Arena."
Shamorie Ponds led the way for St. John's in the team's most recent win against Seton Hall, posting game highs of 27 points, five assists and five steals. His efforts, which followed a three-game stretch that saw score just 29 total points, earned Ponds a spot on Monday's BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. The Brooklyn native's 16th 20-point outing of the season moved him into a tie with David Russell for eighth on the program's all-time scoring list (1,753) and has positioned Ponds within 10 points of tying George Johnson for seventh place. Ponds is one of just two players in program history alongside Mullin to rank in the top 10 in scoring, assists and steals.
Marvin Clark II also snapped out of an offensive funk on Saturday, draining six of his 10 field goal attempts and four of his eight tries from behind the arc. Playing in Madison Square Garden for the final time in a regular season game, Clark exploded for 18 points on Senior Night in front of a large contingent of family from Kansas City.
Clark also played a role in a stout defensive effort for the Red Storm on Saturday, tying a career high with three steals. As a team, the Red Storm recorded 12 steals and forced 22 Seton Hall turnovers in total. Those 22 turnovers, tied for the second highest output of the season by a St. John's opponent, resulted in 28 points for the Johnnies. St. John's also registered 12 blocks, shattering its previous season high of seven logged on Jan. 12 against DePaul. Freshmen Greg Williams Jr. and Marcellus Earlington tallied three rejections apiece against the Pirates, while Sedee Keita tied a career high with four swats of his own.
Starting BIG EAST play with just four wins in their first 11 outings, the Xavier Musketeers have been red hot over the last two weeks, rattling off victories against Creighton, Providence, Seton Hall and Villanova. Naji Marshall, the team's leading scorer at 14.4 points per game, tallied 17 points and seven rebounds on Sunday against the defending national champs.
The Red Storm will wrap its regular season with a pair of road contests, traveling to DePaul on Sunday before heading to Cintas Center for another matchup with Xavier.
Players Mentioned
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