St. John's University Athletics
Friday, August 12
Santo Domingo, D.R. (Palacio de los Deportes Virgilio Travieso Soto)
4 p.m.
St. John's University
89
at
87
Dominican Republic U22 National Team
St. John’s Holds on for 89-87 Win Over Dominican U22 National Team
8/12/2022 7:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Senior center Joel Soriano posted 23 points and 15 boards in the victory
SANTO DOMINGO, D.R. – Dominant individual performances from Joel Soriano and Posh Alexander pushed the St. John's men's basketball squad past the Dominican Republic U22 National Team, 89-87, in the opening game of the Red Storm's foreign tour on Friday.
Soriano, a Yonkers native who has extensive experience playing in the Dominican national system, scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to pace the Johnnies. Soriano went 6-of-13 from the field and 11-of-15 from the charity stripe while grabbing 11 of his 15 boards on the offensive glass.
Alexander, who made three or more 3-pointers just twice in his first two years of college basketball, sank five of his seven attempts from deep on his way to 21 points. The 2021 BIG EAST Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year also recorded three assists and a pair of steals.
Playing in his native Santo Domingo, David Jones finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists in his first game for the Johnnies.
O'Mar Stanley tallied nine points and three steals in only 13 minutes of action, including an end-to-end drive through contact that put the Red Storm ahead for good with 3:49 to play. Stanley scored five points in a 10-0 fourth-quarter run that turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead over the course of two and a half minutes.
Esahia Nyiwe also registered nine points and grabbed five boards. The 6-foot-10 senior made all three of his field goal attempts.
The Red Storm came out of the gate strong, scoring the game's first bucket on a Soriano slam just 22 seconds into the action.
Leading by five, 10-5, after a Soriano alley-oop slam from Andre Curbelo, St. John's saw the Dominican Republic even the game at 12 apiece. The two teams traded blows until the U22 side held a three-point edge, 26-23, after one quarter. Soriano led the way with seven points in the opening period.
DR began the second stanza with back-to-back 3-pointers, quickly stretching its lead to nine less than 90 seconds into the period. The Johnnies fell behind by as many as 14, 48-34, before using a 6-1 burst to cut the deficit back to nine, 49-40, at the break. Nyiwe scored the final four points of the half for St. John's.
The Red Storm opened the second half with a 7-2 rally, cutting its deficit to four, 51-47, on a pair of Soriano free throws with 8:32 to go in the period. The Dominican U22 team quickly answered with an 8-0 burst, building its lead back to 12 less than three minutes later.
That was as large as the home side's lead would get the rest of the way, as Alexander, Nyiwe and AJ Storr anchored an 8-0 St. John's run over the next 90 seconds. Those eight points kickstarted a larger 17-3 tear for the Johnnies, who moved ahead by two before five straight DR points to end the period gave the U22 team a 67-64 edge after 30 minutes of play.
After the U22s used a pair of old fashioned three-point plays to jump ahead by seven, 73-66, in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, St. John's answered with six in a row to shave the deficit back to one, 73-72, with seven minutes to go.
Down by five, 79-74, with just under five minutes remaining, St. John's scored the game's next 10 points, matching its largest lead of the game, 84-79, with 3:09 to go on Alexander's fifth triple.
The Dominicans clawed within one on a pair of occasions down the stretch, but timely free throw shooting and clutch rebounding helped the Red Storm hang on for the victory.
The Johnnies will play the second game of their foreign tour on Sunday when they take on GUG All-Stars on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Sanitago de los Cabelleros. A live stream of the game will be available on the FEDOMBAL YouTube page.
Soriano, a Yonkers native who has extensive experience playing in the Dominican national system, scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to pace the Johnnies. Soriano went 6-of-13 from the field and 11-of-15 from the charity stripe while grabbing 11 of his 15 boards on the offensive glass.
Alexander, who made three or more 3-pointers just twice in his first two years of college basketball, sank five of his seven attempts from deep on his way to 21 points. The 2021 BIG EAST Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year also recorded three assists and a pair of steals.
Playing in his native Santo Domingo, David Jones finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists in his first game for the Johnnies.
O'Mar Stanley tallied nine points and three steals in only 13 minutes of action, including an end-to-end drive through contact that put the Red Storm ahead for good with 3:49 to play. Stanley scored five points in a 10-0 fourth-quarter run that turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead over the course of two and a half minutes.
Esahia Nyiwe also registered nine points and grabbed five boards. The 6-foot-10 senior made all three of his field goal attempts.
The Red Storm came out of the gate strong, scoring the game's first bucket on a Soriano slam just 22 seconds into the action.
Leading by five, 10-5, after a Soriano alley-oop slam from Andre Curbelo, St. John's saw the Dominican Republic even the game at 12 apiece. The two teams traded blows until the U22 side held a three-point edge, 26-23, after one quarter. Soriano led the way with seven points in the opening period.
DR began the second stanza with back-to-back 3-pointers, quickly stretching its lead to nine less than 90 seconds into the period. The Johnnies fell behind by as many as 14, 48-34, before using a 6-1 burst to cut the deficit back to nine, 49-40, at the break. Nyiwe scored the final four points of the half for St. John's.
The Red Storm opened the second half with a 7-2 rally, cutting its deficit to four, 51-47, on a pair of Soriano free throws with 8:32 to go in the period. The Dominican U22 team quickly answered with an 8-0 burst, building its lead back to 12 less than three minutes later.
That was as large as the home side's lead would get the rest of the way, as Alexander, Nyiwe and AJ Storr anchored an 8-0 St. John's run over the next 90 seconds. Those eight points kickstarted a larger 17-3 tear for the Johnnies, who moved ahead by two before five straight DR points to end the period gave the U22 team a 67-64 edge after 30 minutes of play.
After the U22s used a pair of old fashioned three-point plays to jump ahead by seven, 73-66, in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, St. John's answered with six in a row to shave the deficit back to one, 73-72, with seven minutes to go.
Down by five, 79-74, with just under five minutes remaining, St. John's scored the game's next 10 points, matching its largest lead of the game, 84-79, with 3:09 to go on Alexander's fifth triple.
The Dominicans clawed within one on a pair of occasions down the stretch, but timely free throw shooting and clutch rebounding helped the Red Storm hang on for the victory.
The Johnnies will play the second game of their foreign tour on Sunday when they take on GUG All-Stars on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Sanitago de los Cabelleros. A live stream of the game will be available on the FEDOMBAL YouTube page.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
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