St. John’s Defeats Central Connecticut State, 91-74

Tuesday, November 15

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

3-0,0-0Big East

Central Connecticut State

0-3,0-0NEC

Central Conn. St.

St. John's (NY)

St. John’s Defeats Central Connecticut State, 91-74

11/15/2022 11:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Red Storm freshman AJ Storr registers a game-high 16 points in victory over Blue Devils on Tuesday at Carnesecca Arena

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team used a second half surge to pull away from Central Connecticut State, 91-74, on Tuesday at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm scored 51 points shooting 60.0 percent (21-35 FG) in the latter stanza to improve to 3-0 for the third time in the last four seasons under Head Coach Mike Anderson.

Red Storm freshman AJ Storr enjoyed the best performance of his young career, scoring 13 of his game-high 16 points in the second half. The Rockford, Ill., native drained 4-of-5 attempts from distance.

David Jones continued to shine for the Johnnies, as the 6-foot-6 transfer from DePaul recorded 15 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. After starting the contest 0-for-6 from the field, Jones converted six of his final seven field goal attempts to reach double figures for the third time in as many games.

Montez Mathis and Posh Alexander also recorded double-figures finishing with 13 points and 12 points, respectively. Alexander dished out a game-high six assists and committed only one turnover in 26 mintues of action. The Brooklyn native grabbed five rebounds and recorded a pair of steals. Mathis shot 5-for-7 from the floor.

In the early going, St. John's senior center Joel Soriano had his way, scoring eight of the team's first 11 points. However, the Blue Devils drained 5-of-8 three-point attempts to start the contest hanging with St. John's for most of the first half.

As the clock dwindled in the opening stanza, Alexander threaded the needle to a cutting Andre Curbelo, who converted on a reverse lay-up to make it 40-36 heading into the break. Curbelo finished with six points, five assists, three rebounds and one steal.

St. John's established control of the game early in the second half. Dylan Addae-Wusu capped a 9-0 spurt with a three from the corner at 13:27 giving the Red Storm its first double-digit advantage of the night, 56-45. The junior guard from the Bronx finished with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting to go with six boards.

Jones then helped extend the Red Storm's run to 16-2 after scoring the team's next seven points capped by a pull up three that gave St. John's a 63-47 advantage with 11:10 to play. As a team, the Johnnies hit eight of their first 11 field goal attempts in the second half.

With the Red Storm in control, Storr got going on the offensive end of the floor beginning with a highlight reel slam in transition on a lob off the backboard from Alexander. Storr drained two more 3-pointers in the final six minutes of action to help the Johnnies open a 24-point advantage.

The Red Storm will complete a four-game homestand at Carnesecca Arena on Thursday. St. John's is set to host Nebraska in a Gavitt Games matchup at 6:30 p.m. on FS1.