St. John's has trouble late, loses to Xavier for 12th time in a row
St. John's guard Greg Williams Jr. drives passed Xavier forward Jason Carter during the second half of an NCAA basketball game on Wednesday in Cincinnati. Credit: The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP/Albert Cesare
Xavier made it an even dozen on Wednesday night against St. John’s.
The Red Storm was in the game by virtue of its defense for 33 minutes before Xavier’s strong play on the interior became the dominant force in the game and the Musketeers blew by late for a 69-61 Big East win at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati. Xavier has won its last 12 games against St. John’s, the Storm’s longest losing streak against any one program.
St. John’s led for most of the first 13 minutes in the second half. It was up 50-46 with 9:31 to play and though it trailed 51-50 after a three-point play by Musketeer Paul Scruggs, was in a 51-51 tie when Greg Williams Jr. made one of two free throws with 7:21 left.
But Xavier scored the next 12 points over a 3:51 span to complete a 17-1 run and never let St. John’s get closer than six points the rest of the way.
"I didn’t think they did anything in particular there – it was all on us," Rasheem Dunn said. "We committed three turnovers in a row at one point and we didn’t attack the glass."
St. John’s was outrebounded 57-40 and allowed 16 offensive rebounds that led to 12 points and a slew of fouls as Xavier went 21-for-34 on the line to the Storm’s 8-for-15. "You’ve got 21 to eight and that’s the game," Storm coach Mike Anderson said. "We have athletic guys who should be able to rebound with them."
Dunn, who suffered a concussion in the season opener and has been back for five games was the best he’s looked this season with 17 points, shooting 8-for-15. Julian Champagnie added 12 points for St. John’s (6-5, 1-4).
Colby Jones had 16 points, Jason Carter had 11 points and 16 rebounds and Zach Freemantle had 10 rebounds for Xavier (9-2, 2-2), which snapped a two-game losing streak. The Musketeers had 42 points in the paint to overcome 0-for-12 three-point shooting.
St. John’s didn’t show a lot of rust on the defensive end despite not having played since a Dec. 20 defeat of Georgetown, a 17-day span. Offense was another story: the Storm shot 36% from the floor. Dunn, however said, "the break helped me" and it showed.
The St. John’s defense hasn’t been especially good this season, but was vastly improved against Georgetown and it carried over into Wednesday night as the Red Storm went into halftime tied 27-27. The 27 points by the Musketeers is the fewest St. John’s has allowed in any half.
Xavier came into the contest as the best-shooting Big East team – making 49% - however it made just 28% and was 0-for-8 on three-pointers in the first 20 minutes against the Storm..
Caraher takes leave: St. John’s junior swingman David Caraher is taking a leave of absence from the program because of the "ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," according to a school statement. Caraher, who transferred from Houston Baptist after earning Southland Freshman of the Year in 2017-18, played in all 32 games last season, including three starts, and averaged 4.3 points in 14.7 minutes. He has appeared in seven games this season, averaging 0.7 points in 4.6 minutes and played in just one of the Storm’s first four Big East games.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
