No. 22/25 St. John’s Earns a 66-45 Win over Wagner

Wednesday, November 13

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

6:30 p.m.

St. John's University

3-0,0-0Big East

Wagner

1-2,0-0NEC

Wagner

St. John's (NY)

No. 22/25 St. John’s Earns a 66-45 Win over Wagner

11/13/2024 10:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Red Storm men’s basketball team outscored the Seahawks 27-8 over the final 11 minutes on Wednesday at Carnesecca Arena

QUEENS, N.Y. – The No. 22/25 St. John's men's basketball team earned its third-straight victory with a 66-45 win over Wagner on Wednesday at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm (3-0) outscored the Seahawks 27-8 over the final 11 minutes to secure its third win by 20+ points in as many games.

Wednesday's victory also marked the program's first as a nationally ranked team since Dec. 28, 2014, when it took down Tulane, 82-57, as the No. 17 team in the country. St. John's also extended its winning streak against the Seahawks (1-2) to 13.

RJ Luis Jr. led all scorers with 13 points and grabbed five boards in 18 minutes off the St. John's bench. Fellow wing Aaron Scott joined Luis in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Brady Dunlap scored nine points to help lift St. John's, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. Red Storm guards Deivon Smith and Simeon Wilcher also chipped in nine points apiece. Smith, a 6-foot guard from Decatur, Ga., added a game-high eight rebounds to go with three assists and a pair of steals while Wilcher recorded four rebounds and two assists.

St. John's shot 50.0 percent (21-42 FG) from the floor in the victory. The Johnnies registered 20 points in transition against the Seahawks after entering the game ranked fourth in Division I in fastbreak points.

St. John's defense limited Wagner to just 45 points, as the Seahawks shot only 29.1 percent (16-55 FG) from the field and 20.8 percent (5-24 3FG) from distance.

After Wagner recorded the first bucket of the game, Wilcher answered with a 3-pointer and the Red Storm did not trail the rest of the way. St. John's bumped its lead to six after a Dunlap triple and then five straight points from Luis, including three from the charity stripe, to claim a 15-9 lead with 11:21 remaining in the opening frame.

St. John's went up double digits, 30-20, after Javier Ezquerra dribbled the ball off Zavier Finch's sneaker allowing Wilcher to take it in for a layup on the break. The Johnnies maintained a 31-22 advantage at halftime.

Wagner managed to whittle the deficit down to two, 39-37, with 10:54 to go in the second half before the Johnnies took command with a 27-8 spurt to end the game. Smith jumpstarted an 18-0 run with a 3-pointer that helped the Johnnies take a 20-point advantage with 5:48 to go. The run also featured three-consecutive triples from Dunlap, Zuby Ejiofor and Scott.

St. John's increased its advantage to 25 down the stretch following an 8-0 run capped off with a layup from freshman forward Ruben Prey.

The Red Storm will make its 2024-25 Madison Square Garden debut on Sunday when reigning Mountain West Champions RV/RV New Mexico comes to Midtown for the NYC Hoops for Heroes Classic benefiting Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Tip-off scheduled for noon. The national broadcast will air on FS1.