St. John's suffers first loss of season at Iowa State in Big 12/Big East battle
St. John's guard Posh Alexander breaks free for a basket past Iowa State guard Demarion Watson, right, during the first half of an NCAA men's basketball game Sunday in Ames, Iowa. Credit: AP/Matthew Putney
Posh Alexander scored 14 points, but Jaren Holmes had 14 points and Aljaz Kunc added 12 on Sunday as host No. 23 Iowa State handed St. John's its first loss of the season, 71-60, in a game that is part of the Big12/Big East Battle.
Kunc also contributed eight rebounds and three assists for the Cyclones (7-1).
Iowa State turned the tables on the full-court pressing Red Storm, forcing 20 turnovers and holding St. John's (8-1) to 36% shooting.
The Cyclones opened the game with a 17-2 run, capped off by a Gabe Kalscheur three-pointer at the 10:47 mark of the first half.
In the opening 9 minutes, St. John's went 0-for-8 shooting and committed nine turnovers. Rafael Pinzon hit a three-pointer for the Red Storm's first basket, with 9:54 left in the half.
The Cyclones led 33-22 at the break. St. John's went 6-for-23 shooting from the field (26.1%) in the first 20 minutes.
A three-pointer from Holmes gave Iowa State a 44-29 margin early in the second half. Osun Osunniyi's dunk made it 47-30 with 13 minutes remaining.
Iowa State will likely remain in the top 25 after making its season debut this week. St. John's was playing its first game outside of New York City and began this weekend as one of just 15 unbeaten teams nationally.
St. John's opens Big East play Wednesday with a home game against DePaul
