Vince Cole Carries St. John’s Past Rider, 82-79

Tuesday, December 8

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

5-1

Rider

0-2

Rider

St. John's

12/8/2020 10:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Red Storm junior wing scores 12 of the team’s final 14 points during crucial stretch run to upend Broncs

QUEENS, N.Y. – In the Red Storm's season opener against Saint Peter's, St. John's needed some late heroics from Vince Cole to escape a crushing non-conference loss at home. The script was shockingly similar on Tuesday night at Carnesecca Arena, as the former junior college All-American scored 12 points in the final 2:45 to help St. John's slip past Rider, 82-79.

After trailing by as many as 11 in the second half, the Red Storm whittled the Rider advantage down to four, 72-68, with three minutes to play. From there, the Johnnies (5-1) scored 14 of the game's next 18 points to remain undefeated at home this season and enter conference play on a winning note.

Cole kick started the decisive run with a triple from the left wing, pulling the Johnnies within one before putting them ahead with a 2-for-2 trip to the line on the following possession. He then added a 17-footer, two more free throws and an NBA-range trey to help put the game out of reach.

The Charleston, S.C., product finished the evening with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. 17 of his 26 points after the intermission.

Marcellus Earlington, who scored the other bucket for the Red Storm on that crucial 14-4 run, scored a season-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He also grabbed five boards and came up with a pair of steals. The junior forward played a vital role in the initial run to get St. John's back in the game, scoring 10 points during a 20-8 spurt that saw the Johnnies turn an 11-point deficit into a one-point lead.

Julian Champagnie continued his stellar start to the season, registering his sixth career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Brooklyn native also added three steals and a pair of blocks.

The Red Storm's freshmen class led the way in facilitating the offense, as Posh Alexander dished out a game-high eight assists while Dylan Addae-Wusu added five.

Four Rider players finished in double figures, led by Rodney Henderson Jr.'s 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Dwight Murray Jr. added 19 points, seven assists and six boards while Allen Powell chipped in 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Tyrel Bladen finished with 10 points and a team-high eight boards.

The Red Storm came out of the gate firing, opening the game on a 9-2 run.

After their hot start, the Johnnies struggled offensively near the midway mark of the first period, going more than five minutes without a field goal and watching Rider take a 16-15 lead on a Murray triple with 10:14 to go.

The Red Storm scored five straight to move back ahead by three, 22-19, on a Cole jam with 6:50 remaining, but the Broncs responded with five unanswered of their own, starting a back-and-forth close to the half that saw Rider take a 35-33 lead into the intermission.

Rider opened the second half on a 13-4 run, moving ahead by 11 on a Powell triple with 16:17 to play.

After a St. John's timeout, Earlington scored back-to-back buckets to ignite the Red Storm's first big run of the half. Beginning with an Earlington three-point play with 13:35 to go, the Johnnies outscored the Broncs 14-3 over the next three-plus minutes, moving back ahead by one, 57-56, on a Champagnie fastbreak dunk with 10 minutes to play.

Rider responded with a 7-0 run to move back ahead by six and held the lead until Cole put the Johnnies ahead for good at the 2:20 mark.

St. John's will open BIG EAST play on Friday, traveling to Newark for a 4:30 p.m. showdown with Seton Hall. The game from Prudential Center will air live on CBS Sports Network and 570 AM WMCA.