St. John’s Falls to No. 18/19 Creighton, 77-67

Saturday, February 18

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

7:30 p.m.

St. John's University

16-12,6-11Big East

No. 18/19 Creighton

18-9,12-4Big East

Creighton

St. John's (NY)

2/18/2023 11:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Joel Soriano led the Red Storm with 15 points and eight rebounds on Saturday at Carnesecca Arena

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team came up short in its final contest at Carnesecca Arena this season, falling 77-67 to No. 18/19 Creighton on Saturday.

Joel Soriano led the Red Storm with 15 points and eight rebounds. The senior center also pulled down his 500^th rebound at St. John's, becoming just the ninth player in program history to reach the milestone in their first two seasons with the program.

David Jones reached double figures for his sixth-straight game, rattling off 14 points in 29 minutes off the bench. Posh Alexander dished out a team-best six assists while Dylan Addae-Wusu handed out five of his own to go with five steals for the Johnnies.

Creighton (18-9, 12-4 BIG EAST) was led by Ryan Nembhard who finished with 16 points and five assists. As a team, the Bluejays hit 13 3-pointers and sank all 16 free-throw attempts.

The Bluejays jumped out to an early lead and maintained an advantage for the majority of the first half. Creighton sank eight triples while scoring 13 second chance points in the opening stanza to build a 42-32 advantage at the break. Nembhard had 10 of his 16 points in the first 20 minutes of action.

In the second half, St. John's (16-12, 6-11 BIG EAST) battled all the way back from a 12-point deficit by outscoring the Bluejays, 17-4, over an eight-minute stretch to take a 49-48 advantage at 11:53. The Johnnies scored 11-straight points during the run, as Creighton missed 13 shots in six scoreless minutes of action, and regained a one-point edge on Kolby King's bucket in transition.

Coming out of a timeout, Nembhard answered with the next four points to help the Bluejays reclaim the lead, 52-49, at 9:54. The Johnnies held close with Creighton, keeping it a two-possession game, and even getting within one, 58-57, on Soriano's bucket at 6:39, before the Bluejays answered with an 11-0 run that put the contest out of reach. Arthur Kaluma buried three-straight 3-pointers to power the Bluejays' offensive surge.

St. John's returns to action on Wednesday when the Johnnies visit Georgetown. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. at Capital One Arena. CBS Sports Network will carry the national telecast.