David Jones fuels St. John's second-half surge in win over Central Connecticut
St. John's forward David Jones puts up a layup against Central Connecticut center Jayden Brown during an NCAA men's basketball game at Carnesecca Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
When Julian Champagnie left the program to try his luck in the NBA, St. John’s knew it would be challenging to replace his production (19.2 ppg).
So far David Jones is proving that he will be integral in overcoming that challenge.
The DePaul transfer started out slow, missing his first six shots. Two free throws and a layup in the final 1:30 of the first half seemed to awaken his scoring touch.
With 12:08 left in the second half Jones glided in for a layup, then he grabbed an offensive rebound and put it home. With confidence he grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled down the court into a pull-up three- pointer and sunk it.
“David was pressing in the first half,” St. John’s coach Mike Anderson said. “He got to the free-throw line and all of a sudden he scored a bucket, then he’s capable of scoring in bunches.”
Jones scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half as St. John’s earned a 91-74 victory over Central Connecticut State on Tuesday night at Carnesecca Arena.
“My coaches and teammates always tell me that the shots are going to fall,” Jones said. “I was trying to do different things to help the team in the first half, but in the second shots started falling.”
It was another game for St. John’s that started off slow defensively, but they still led 40-36 at the half. The Red Storm (3-0) allowed the Blue Devils (0-3) to shoot 54% in the first half and 46% from three.
“We had to get stops on defense, make adjustments,” Posh Alexander said regarding the message at halftime. “We went to zone and were more connected.”
St. John’s relied heavily on Joel Soriano early. On their first possession he got the ball in the post and hit a turnaround baby hook. When Central Connecticut double-teamed Soriano on his next touch, he found Montez Mathis for a three-pointer.
After Jones’ second-half scoring outburst, he found AJ Storr (16 points) for an open corner three and the Red Storm began to pour it on. Alexander (12 points, six assists) electrified the crowd as he tossed a ball off the backboard in transition that Storr slammed home.
The Red Storm shot 55% from the field and made eight three-pointers. In the second half they limited the Blue Devils to 28% shooting from distance and held Nigel Scantlebury to only four points after a 12-point first half.
“We weren’t getting to the places we needed to, they got every loose ball, they penetrated,” Anderson said. “We have to guard better; we have to approach next game [Nebraska] as a big game and find a way to win.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.
