St. John's has 15 blocks, beats Longwood
St. John's Chris Obekpa (12) is covered by Jeylani Dublin during a game against Longwood. (Nov. 26, 2013) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
D'Angelo Harrison scored 18 points as St. John's tied a school record with 15 blocks and pulled away late in the second half for a 65-47 victory over Longwood Tuesday night at Carnesecca Arena.
Sir' Dominic Pointer added 11 points for St. John's (4-1), which shot 37.3 percent (22-of-59) and made 3 of 19 from 3-point range. Phil Greene IV chipped in eight points while JaKarr Sampson had a season-high 11 rebounds.
Chris Obekpa added eight points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots as St. John's equaled the school record for the second straight game. Freshman Rysheed Jordan returned from a one-game suspension for violating team rules and also scored eight points.
Jeylani Dublin led Longwood (2-4) with 16 points. Lucas Woodhouse added 10 for the Lancers, who shot 33.9 percent (19-of-56).
The Red Storm allowed the game's first seven points, and struggled with Longwood for most of the game, but pulled away late in the second half.
Harrison was 4 of 17, including 3 of 11 from three-point range. He salvaged his worst shooting night of the season with two key baskets in the final six-plus minutes.
Harrison hit a left elbow mid-range jumper and subsequent foul shot with 6:11 remaining for a 50-37 lead. Longwood was within seven points two minutes earlier. With 4:27 remaining, he hit an open three-pointer for a 56-43 lead.
It was the second time that the Red Storm opened a double-digit lead but this time they sustained it.
St. John's seemed to be taking command with a 10-0 run that gave them a 40-27 lead with 11:42 on a dunk by Pointer. Longwood responded with a 10-4 spurt as Dublin scored six straight points to help the Lancers get with 44-37 with 8:47 left.
St. John's missed its first seven shots and did not have a point for the first 6:10 before getting consecutive dunks from Obekpa and Orlando Sanchez. The Red Storm missed their first nine 3-pointers before taking a 20-19 lead on Harrison's 3-pointer with 3:14 left in the first half.
Jordan scored four straight points for St. John's, giving them a 25-23 lead on a mid-range baseline jumper with 34 seconds left. After Woodhouse committed a turnover, Branch scored on a nifty one-handed layup through traffic with six seconds remaining for a 27-23 edge at halftime.