St. John’s Routs Fordham, 92-60

Monday, November 4

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

6:30 p.m.

St. John's University

1-0,0-0Big East

Fordham

0-1,0-0Atlantic 10

Fordham

St. John's (NY)

11/4/2024 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Simeon Wilcher scored a team-high 17 points and Kadary Richmond added 16 points to help lead the Red Storm men’s basketball team past the Rams at Carnesecca Arena

QUEENS, N.Y. – Sophomore guard Simeon Wilcher scored a career-high 17 points to help lead the St. John's men's basketball team to a 92-60 win over Fordham inside Carnesecca Arena on Monday in its season opener.

The Plainfield, N.J., product shot 7-for-9 from the floor with one 3-pointer and a pair of makes at the free-throw line. Wilcher also pulled down three rebounds and made two steals in 26 minutes of action.

Co-captain Kadary Richmond nearly notched a double-double with 16 points and nine boards, including four on the offensive glass. The Brooklyn native also dished out five assists while registering a steal and a block in his St. John's debut.

RJ Luis Jr. and Aaron Scott logged 12 points apiece, combining to shoot 9-of-15 from the floor. Scott also recorded five boards, two assists and a pair of steals in his first game with the Johnnies.

St. John's (1-0) shot 54.5 percent (36-66 FG) from the floor as a team, including 62.5 percent (25-40 FG) from inside the arc. The Red Storm also racked up 40 points in the paint and 20 points off turnovers.

The victory marked St. John's 11^th consecutive season opening win and its sixth straight in Queens dating back to the start of the 2023-24 campaign. It was also the sixth sellout at Carnesecca Arena over the last two seasons.

The Johnnies jumped out to a 12-3 lead just over six minutes into the contest. Richmond and Luis jumpstarted a 9-0 run with layups before Luis buried a three and then Scott made a steal and layup in transition. Defensively, St. John's clamped down and held Fordham scoreless for nearly eight minutes before the Rams got their second bucket at the 11:23 mark.

After Fordham cut its deficit to as few as two, 19-17, with 7:54 to go in the opening stanza, the Johnnies outscored the Rams 21-9 the rest of the half. St. John's held Fordham without a field goal for another five minutes while building its lead to double digits. The Red Storm carried a 40-26 advantage into the break.

St. John's poured it on in the second half when the Johnnies hit six of their nine 3-pointers. Wilcher opened the scoring with a pull-up 3-pointer before Scott buried back-to-back triples near the midway point of the half to take a 24-point advantage. Sadiku Ibine Ayo scored his first points with the Red Storm with less than eight minutes to go, hitting from distance to take a 71-46 lead.

Five different Red Storm players combined for 10-straight points over a span of 1:40 to claim an 81-48 advantage. Richmond got the surge started with a corner 3-pointer. The run also featured a dunk in transition by Ruben Prey. The Johnnies saw its lead grow as large as 36 in the final two minutes after Brady Dunlap knocked down a jumper from inside the arc.

St. John's returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Quinnipiac at Carnesecca Arena. Tip-off from Queens is schedule for 2 p.m. FS2 will air the national telecast from Queens.