Minus Lavin, Harrison, Storm dominate
St. John's D'Angelo Harrison goes up around St. Francis' Kevin Douglas during the NCAA basketball game at Carnesecca Arena. (Nov. 22, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Coming off two losses to nationally ranked competition, St. John's rebounded with a 63-48 victory over St. Francis of the Northeast Conference Tuesday night at Carnesecca Arena. But Red Storm coach Steve Lavin wasn't there to see it because he was compelled to stay home for the second time this season as part of his recovery from prostate cancer surgery on Oct. 6.
Just as he did throughout the preseason and for the regular-season opener, assistant Mike Dunlap stepped up to fill the void seamlessly. Lavin became fatigued after coaching back-to-back games against Arizona and Texas A&M in the 2K Sports Classic on Thursday and Friday, then he drove to New Haven over the weekend to view potential recruits Amir Garrett and JaKarr Sampson in a tournament.
Asked how Lavin is feeling, Dunlap said: "I'm like a mother hen. I watch him very closely, and I could anticipate this probably was going to happen. He came back with a vengeance and did those two games back-to-back and then he went up north to watch a tournament. That took a lot out of him. Trying to rally today was just too hard. His mind says, 'Yes.' His body says, 'Hold on a second.' "
Dunlap said it likely will take up to three months after surgery for Lavin to approach full strength. The good news, Dunlap said, is that all of Lavin's post-operation test results have come back with "A-plus results."
The marks for Lavin's young recruiting class might not have been that high, but Dunlap was satisfied with how they performed against St. Francis (0-4), holding the Terriers to a .358 shooting percentage, including a .217 mark from three-point range. Stefan Peruncic was the only Terrier in double figures with 13 points.
"Defensively, you look at field-goal percentage regardless of who you're playing," Dunlap said. "Holding them to 35 percent is a healthy effort. St. Francis has some shooters."
The Terriers' problem was that St. John's (4-2) had a whole lot more firepower. Guard D'Angelo Harrison came off the bench to lead the Red Storm with 21 points. Moe Harkless added 18, and Sir'Dominic Pointer finished with 10. St. John's struggled at the foul line again (9-for-19), but the Red Storm shot 68.4 percent (13-for-19) from the field in the second half.
Harrison lit it up with 15 first-half points, including nine in a 15-7 run that gave St. John's it's biggest first-half lead at 29-13.
In the second half, St. John's talent level made the difference.
Harkless drove the lane, did a 360-degree spin and laid it in for a 52-34 cushion that was St. John's biggest lead of the game. The most impressive move of all might have been Pointer's driving dunk, coming from the corner down the baseline. "That was a 10," Harrison said.
The Red Storm adjusted well to Lavin's absence. "It was definitely a surprise," Harkless said. "I think he just needed a rest because he's been going so hard in practice the past couple of days."
