St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Holds off Monmouth, 88-83
12/10/2021 12:07:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm sophomore guard Posh Alexander scores 21 points for the Red Storm
QUEENS, N.Y. – Coming into Thursday, Monmouth had won more road games, five, than any other team in the country. St. John's held off a furious Hawks run in the closing minutes to keep that number unchanged, pulling out an 88-83 victory at Carnesecca Arena in the opening game of the Gotham Classic.
The Johnnies (7-2) led by 11 with 3:32 to go before Monmouth, who entered the game ranked 44 in the NET, rattled off an 11-2 run to pull within two, 83-81, with less than a minute to play.
Dylan Addae-Wusu responded with a driving layup to push the lead back to four before he and Posh Alexander combined for three free throws to provide the rest of the St. John's offense.
Alexander led five Johnnies in double figures, netting 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and pulling down five boards. The sophomore also made a game-sealing hustle play in the closing seconds, stripping a Monmouth player off a missed free throw before throwing it off his leg and out-of-bounds to keep possession with St. John's.
Julian Champagnie tallied 16 points, five assists, four steals and three blocks, finishing in double figures for the 34th straight game dating back to the start of his sophomore season.
Addae-Wusu scored three of his 11 points in the final 33 seconds of action. The sophomore guard, who tallied 11 assists in his last outing, dished out seven helpers and grabbed six boards against the Hawks (7-2).
Montez Mathis finished with 14 points, six boards and five assists while Stef Smith scored 13 points in just 13 minutes of action.
Freshman O'Mar Stanley played a key role for St. John's in the second half, finishing with six points and a pair of blocks.
With the win, St. John's improved to 7-0 in Queens on the season.
Seton Hall transfer Shavar Reynolds Jr. scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the first half to lead five Hawks in double figures. Four of those five double-figure scorers were graduate students.
Trailing 8-5 in the early going, St. John's unleashed a 9-0 run thanks to consecutive three-point plays from Alexander and Mathis before Smith knocked down the Johnnies' first triple of the night.
After a 7-0 Red Storm run to push the lead to eight, 23-15, Reynolds scored eight straight for Monmouth to make it a two-point game, 25-23, with eight minutes to play in the half.
From there, Alexander scored seven points on a 13-6 St. John's burst, giving the Red Storm its largest lead of the first half at 38-29 with 2:46 remaining in the period.
On top 42-36 at the break, St. John's quickly built its lead to double figures and pulled ahead by as many as 14, 67-53, near the midway mark of the half. Monmouth battled within six before an Alexander and-one and a Stanley layup bumped the advantage back to 11, 81-70, with 3:32 to play.
Monmouth responded by scoring 11 of the game's next 13 points to make it a one-possession game, 83-81, following three George Papas free throws with 53 seconds to play. Addae-Wusu responded with a driving layup to put the Johnnies ahead by four before Reynolds made another bucket to cut the deficit back to two, 85-83.
Monmouth fouled on the ensuing possession and Addae-Wusu sank the first free throw, but missed the second. Nikkei Rutty grabbed the board for the Hawks before Alexander poked it away beneath the basket and fired the loose ball off Rutty and out of bounds, giving St. John's possession of the ball with 10 seconds to go.
On the resulting possession, the Hawks fouled Alexander, who calmly drained both free throws to seal the game for St. John's.
The Red Storm will return to action on Sunday, hosting Colgate in the team's second game of the 2021 Gotham Classic before wrapping non-conference action against Pittsburgh on Dec. 18 at Madison Square Garden.
The Johnnies (7-2) led by 11 with 3:32 to go before Monmouth, who entered the game ranked 44 in the NET, rattled off an 11-2 run to pull within two, 83-81, with less than a minute to play.
Dylan Addae-Wusu responded with a driving layup to push the lead back to four before he and Posh Alexander combined for three free throws to provide the rest of the St. John's offense.
Alexander led five Johnnies in double figures, netting 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and pulling down five boards. The sophomore also made a game-sealing hustle play in the closing seconds, stripping a Monmouth player off a missed free throw before throwing it off his leg and out-of-bounds to keep possession with St. John's.
Julian Champagnie tallied 16 points, five assists, four steals and three blocks, finishing in double figures for the 34th straight game dating back to the start of his sophomore season.
Addae-Wusu scored three of his 11 points in the final 33 seconds of action. The sophomore guard, who tallied 11 assists in his last outing, dished out seven helpers and grabbed six boards against the Hawks (7-2).
Montez Mathis finished with 14 points, six boards and five assists while Stef Smith scored 13 points in just 13 minutes of action.
Freshman O'Mar Stanley played a key role for St. John's in the second half, finishing with six points and a pair of blocks.
With the win, St. John's improved to 7-0 in Queens on the season.
Seton Hall transfer Shavar Reynolds Jr. scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the first half to lead five Hawks in double figures. Four of those five double-figure scorers were graduate students.
Trailing 8-5 in the early going, St. John's unleashed a 9-0 run thanks to consecutive three-point plays from Alexander and Mathis before Smith knocked down the Johnnies' first triple of the night.
After a 7-0 Red Storm run to push the lead to eight, 23-15, Reynolds scored eight straight for Monmouth to make it a two-point game, 25-23, with eight minutes to play in the half.
From there, Alexander scored seven points on a 13-6 St. John's burst, giving the Red Storm its largest lead of the first half at 38-29 with 2:46 remaining in the period.
On top 42-36 at the break, St. John's quickly built its lead to double figures and pulled ahead by as many as 14, 67-53, near the midway mark of the half. Monmouth battled within six before an Alexander and-one and a Stanley layup bumped the advantage back to 11, 81-70, with 3:32 to play.
Monmouth responded by scoring 11 of the game's next 13 points to make it a one-possession game, 83-81, following three George Papas free throws with 53 seconds to play. Addae-Wusu responded with a driving layup to put the Johnnies ahead by four before Reynolds made another bucket to cut the deficit back to two, 85-83.
Monmouth fouled on the ensuing possession and Addae-Wusu sank the first free throw, but missed the second. Nikkei Rutty grabbed the board for the Hawks before Alexander poked it away beneath the basket and fired the loose ball off Rutty and out of bounds, giving St. John's possession of the ball with 10 seconds to go.
On the resulting possession, the Hawks fouled Alexander, who calmly drained both free throws to seal the game for St. John's.
The Red Storm will return to action on Sunday, hosting Colgate in the team's second game of the 2021 Gotham Classic before wrapping non-conference action against Pittsburgh on Dec. 18 at Madison Square Garden.
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