St. John’s Earns Road Win at West Virginia in BIG EAST – Big 12 Battle

Friday, December 1

Morgantown, W. Va. (WVU Coliseum)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

5-2,0-0Big East

West Virginia

3-4,0-0Big 12

St. John's (NY)

West Virginia

St. John’s Earns Road Win at West Virginia in BIG EAST – Big 12 Battle

12/1/2023 11:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Red Storm senior center Joel Soriano posted career-high 24 points in a 79-73 victory on Friday in Morgantown, W. Va.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The St. John's men's basketball team earned its third-straight win on Friday by taking down West Virginia, 79-73, at WVU Coliseum in the BIG EAST – Big 12 Battle.

Senior Joel Soriano propelled the Johnnies to their fourth consecutive win in its series with the Mountaineers with a career-high 24 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the field. The Yonkers native also recorded nine boards and three blocks in 29 minutes of action.

St. John's forward Chris Ledlum registered his second double-double of the season with 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 10 rebounds. Naheim Alleyne chipped in 14 points off the bench while Jordan Dingle rounded out those Johnnies in double figures with 10 points.

The Red Storm (5-2) was dominant on the interior, finishing with 32 points in the paint. St. John's pulled down 18 offensive boards and scored 26 second-chance points.

St. John's was without sophomore RJ Luis Jr. who was sidelined due to injury.

The Johnnies and Mountaineers played an even first half as the teams entered intermission with the score locked at 36-36. The lead changed sides four times and the score was tied on 10 occasions during the back-and-forth opening stanza.

Soriano and Ledlum combined for 30 of the Red Storm's 36 first half points. The front court duo shot 12-for-18 (66.7 percent) from the field in the first 20 minutes of action.

West Virginia (3-4) hit six of its first nine shots to take its largest lead of the game, 22-15, at the 13:08 mark. Quinn Slazinski led the Mountaineers by scoring eight of his team-high 19 points during the early spurt.

The Red Storm answered with a 10-0 run capped by Ledlum's 3-pointer to secure a 25-22 lead with 7:44 to play in the opening frame. St. John's also held the Mountaineers scoreless over the five-minute run and forced eight straight misses. From there, neither team held more than a three-point advantage the rest of half.

Both teams exchanged blows in the opening seven minutes of the second half before Dingle scored five-straight points to give St. John's an advantage it maintained the rest of the way. The senior guard convert a layup and then drained a 3-pointer to push the Red Storm ahead, 50-45, with 13:14 on the clock.

St. John's ramped up the pressure on West Virginia over the next seven minutes to nearly double its advantage, 65-56, with Alleyne scoring seven points during that span.

West Virginia managed to cut the Red Storm's lead to as few as two points down the stretch. However, Glenn Taylor Jr. and Alleyne made key plays in the final two minutes to hold off the Mountaineers.

With just over 90 seconds remaining, Taylor tipped an offensive board to Alleyne for a layup to go up 72-68. On the opposite end of the floor, Taylor swatted away Ofri Naveh's shot attempt just outside the paint, which led to Alleyne sinking a corner 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to put the game away.

West Virginia's Jesse Edwards and Kobe Johnson finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively, while Harris nearly posted a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Johnnies will return to Queens on Wednesday to host Sacred Heart inside Carnesecca Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.