St. John’s Falls to Creighton, 81-78

Wednesday, February 23

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

6:30 p.m.

St. John's University

15-12, 7-9BE

Creighton

19-8, 11-5BE

Creighton

St. John's

2/23/2022 10:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Red Storm senior guard Montez Mathis leads four Johnnies in double figures with 15 points

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team came up just short against Creighton on Wednesday night, as the Bluejays held on for an 81-78 victory at Carnesecca Arena.

St. John's (15-12, 7-9 BIG EAST) led by one, 76-75, with just over three minutes to play before Creighton scored six of the game's last eight points. The Red Storm made just one of its last seven field goals.

Creighton (19-8, 11-5 BIG EAST) extended its winning streak to six games and remained in a tie for third place in the conference standings. The Bluejays shot 51.6 percent from the floor and assisted on 20 of their 33 made baskets. Ryan Hawkins tallied 25 points and 12 boards for Creighton while Ryan Kalkbrenner added 19 points and seven rebounds.

Montez Mathis scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the first half. The senior from Baltimore also dished out two assists and recorded two steals.

O'Mar Stanley converted on seven of his eight field goal tries for 14 points, matching a season-high set in his collegiate debut against Mississippi Valley State. The Kansas City native logged his impressive stat line in just 12 minutes of action.

Stef Smith tallied an efficient 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, equaling his second-highest point total of the season.

Posh Alexander also finished in double figures, registering 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

The Red Storm's two leading scorers in BIG EAST play, Julian Champagnie and Aaron Wheeler, combined for 11 points on 4-of-26 shooting.

St. John's struggled out of the gate, making three of its first 12 field goal tries and falling behind by as many as 10, 20-10, less than seven minutes into the game.

Trailing by nine, 28-19, with 8:27 to go, the Red Storm closed the half on a 27-11 run, moving ahead by as many as nine before taking a 46-39 lead into the locker room.

Esahia Nyiwe opened the second half with a slam, extending the St. John's advantage to nine before Creighton ripped off a 9-2 run to pull within two on a Hawkins triple.

St. John's withstood a number of Creighton pushes before the Bluejays pulled ahead for the first time in the second half, 67-66, on a Trey Alexander 3-pointer with 9:15 to play.

The Red Storm retook the lead on a Smith triple just 10 seconds later and held the advantage for nearly two minutes before Creighton managed to pull ahead by four, 75-71, following back-to-back buckets with just under five minutes to play.

Nyiwe brought the Johnnies back within one on a 3-pointer, his third of the season, with 3:44 to go before a steal and score from Mathis put the Red Storm back on top, 76-75, at the game's final media timeout with 3:16 to play.

From there, the Johnnies went cold, going scoreless over the next 2:52 while Creighton sank two buckets to pull ahead by three, 79-76. Dylan Addae-Wusu pulled the Red Storm within one, 79-78, on a layup with 24 seconds to go, but the Johnnies could not execute down the stretch, as Creighton escaped with an 81-78 win.