Red Storm Returns to Action on Saturday Against Lafayette

QUEENS, N.Y. – After cruising to a 25-point win in its season opener on Monday, the St. John's men's basketball team will return to action on Saturday when it welcomes Lafayette to Carnesecca Arena.

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on FS2 with Gary Apple and Tarik Turner on the call from Queens.

An audio broadcast of the game on the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network with John Minko and Brandon Tierney will also be available on a variety of platforms including the Varsity Network App, TuneIn Radio, RedStormSports.com and the St. John's Red Storm mobile app.

Fans can purchase tickets to Saturday's game by clicking here. The first 750 fans to enter Carnesecca Arena on Saturday will receive a 2022-23 St. John's men's basketball schedule poster.

The Red Storm (1-0) disposed of preseason NEC favorite Merrimack in convincing fashion on Monday, as the Johnnies rolled to a 97-72 victory. It marked the ninth straight win for St. John's in a season opener and the 19^th consecutive time that the Red Storm has won its home opener at Carnesecca Arena.

All five Red Storm starters finished in double figures, led by David Jones with 21 points and 10 rebounds. The DePaul transfer, who ranked ninth in the BIG EAST in scoring and 10^th in rebounding a season ago, posted his sixth career double-double. He connected on eight of his 16 field goal attempts, including five of his 12 tries from beyond the arc, and added four assists.

The Red Storm's other highly touted transfer, Andre Curbelo, scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and dished out a game-high seven assists in his Red Storm debut. The 2021 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year at Illinois also swiped two steals.

Posh Alexander started off his junior season on the right foot, tallying 14 points and five assists while also matching a career-high with six steals.

Beginning his fifth season of collegiate basketball, Montez Mathis eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career against the Warriors.

Joel Soriano also posted a double-double for the Johnnies, grabbing 12 points and 11 boards. It marked the third consecutive season that Soriano opened with a double-double.

As a team, St. John's shot 56.9 percent from the floor and connected on 10 3-pointers. Last season, the Red Storm went 6-2 in games that featured 10 or more made triples with its only losses coming to eventual national champion Kansas and against UConn in overtime.

The Red Storm will look to improve to 2-0 for the fourth time in as many opportunities under Mike Anderson when it welcomes the Leopards on Monday.

Lafayette opened its season on Monday in Coral Gables, falling to Miami, 67-54. Sophomore guard CJ Fulton, a Belfast native, led the team with 17 points while junior forward Kyle Jenkins, who also grabbed a team-high seven boards, added 10 points. The Leopards led the Hurricanes, who advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season, by two at the half. The two teams were tied at 43 with 11 minutes to go before Miami separated with a 9-0 run.

Lafayette is in its first season under Head Coach Mike Jones, who replaced Fran O'Hanlon following the latter's retirement after 27 years at the helm of the program. Jordan most recently spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at Colgate, where he helped guide the Raiders to an NCAA Tournament appearance last spring. As a player at Penn, Jordan was a three-time First Team All-Ivy League selection and the 2000 Ivy League Player of the Year.

St. John's and Lafeyette will meet for the 11^th time in the program history and the first since a 72-49 Red Storm win on Nov. 15, 1997, inside Alumni Hall. The Red Storm owns a slight 6-4 edge in the series history, but has won each of the last six meetings between the teams dating back to 1953. Lafayette opened the series with four straight wins from 1917-21.

After hosting the Leopards on Saturday, the Red Storm will close out its season-opening four-game homestand with contests against CCSU (Nov. 15) and Nebraska in the Gavitt Tip-Off Games (Nov. 17).

St. John's University Athletics

Red Storm Returns to Action on Saturday Against Lafayette

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