Red Storm no match for No. 1 Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The young class of raw St. John's recruits ventured into the lion's den known as Rupp Arena Thursday night to challenge No. 1-ranked Kentucky, and the kids basically were out of their league in front of a roaring crowd of 24,119.
Every foray into the paint was a blocked shot waiting to happen against the taller, super-athletic Wildcats, who swatted away an incredible 18 shots on their way to an 81-59 victory.
The Red Storm played tough defensively, holding the Wildcats to 40.6 percent shooting. But after St. John's (4-4) went ahead 5-4, the Wildcats (7-0) put together a 12-0 run for a 16-5 lead, and that was it.
Terrence Jones had a dominant game with 26 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Anthony Davis was equally forceful with 15 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks, and Doron Lamb added 16 points.
St. John's was led by God'sgift Achiuwa's 18 points and 10 rebounds and Moe Harkless' 16 points and 10 rebounds, but the Red Storm shot 31.7 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers.
The first half resembled an episode of "Fear Factor" for the Red Storm. They dribbled around the perimeter without much success finding an opening to shoot as the shot clock ran down. They even were hesitant to launch from three-point range because Kentucky's defenders were so quick to jump out with a hand in the face.
As a result, St. John's lost the ball five times for shot-clock violations and had 10 shots blocked in the first half alone.
"The problem was we got in the paint and couldn't finish or make that extra pass," said assistant coach Mike Dunlap, who is running the team while Steve Lavin recovers from prostate cancer surgery. "We were a bit passive, but it also was the 23,000 people."
One sequence toward the end of the first half was especially telling. Jones, the 6-9 preseason All-American forward, blocked a shot on the wing by St. John's D'Angelo Harrison. At the other end, Jones went up over the 6-8 Harkless for a violent putback. As he backpedaled downcourt, Jones smiled steadily at Harkless, who would not meet his gaze.
"I think we turned down a lot of open shots," said Red Storm guard Nurideen Lindsey, who took only three shots and scored only one point. "Guys weren't as aggressive as far as looking for shots."
In the second half, Kentucky pushed its lead to 47-30 on the second of two highlight-reel dunks by Davis off alley-oop feeds from Marquis Teague. Describing Davis' impact on the game, Lindsey said, "It's like shooting over a tower. I didn't know he was as long and athletic as he is until he caught a couple of the lob plays. He was blocking shots all over the place."
Harrison shot 2-for-9 (1-for-6 on three-pointers) and was held to five points. "I got blocked three times," he said. "You just have to be crafty and learn how to play."
St. John's frustration showed late in the game when Lindsey was called for a flagrant personal foul and Harrison picked up a technical.
"I didn't see a lot of frustration until the end when we were giving up a lot of easy baskets," Dunlap said. "It's no fun."
