St. John's blows out Colgate and 62 candles on coach Mike Anderson's birthday
Julian Champagnie of St. John's shoots a jumper during the second half against Colgate at Carnesecca Arena on Sunday. Credit: James Escher
St. John’s coach Mike Anderson could not have gotten a better present on his 62nd birthday. His Red Storm on Sunday was almost exactly the team he wants it to be this season.
St. John’s took control in the middle of the first half and never relinquished it in an 82-64 non-conference win over Colgate before 3,510 at Carnesecca Arena.
Unlike previous games, the Red Storm didn’t need a huge second half or allow a late comeback or have to white-knuckle the final minutes.
Major contributions off the bench allowed four of the five starters to play 26 or fewer minutes and stay fresh. St. John’s (8-2) shot accurately — 47% overall and 40% on three-pointers — and defended well. The Red Storm turned 16 Colgate turnovers into 24 points and committed a season-low six turnovers.
"The birthdays I’ve had since I’ve been a coach, a lot have fallen on game days," Anderson said. "I said, ‘Like all game days, you guys know what my wish is,’ and we got it today."
"He said what he wants for his birthday is a ‘W,’ and we wanted that just as bad as he did," Julian Champagnie said.
Champagnie had 19 points, including the 1,000th of his career, and shot 7-for-12 in 26 minutes. Posh Alexander had 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Jack Ferguson had 23 points, including seven three-pointers, for Colgate (4-7), which was without leading scorer Nelly Cummings, who is injured.
Champagnie was 5-for-24 on three-pointers in his previous five games at Carnesecca Arena but shot 5-for-7.
"I think I went through a poor shooting stretch the last couple games, especially at home, but rest has something to do with it," he said. "When I play a lot — and if we’re down and [trying] to keep the game ahead of us — I tend to force some bad shots . . . Today I was able to rest and catch my breath and my legs were under me."
Off the bench, Rafael Pinzon, a freshman from Long Island Lutheran, had 14 points and three assists in 17 minutes. Aaron Wheeler responded to being benched in the previous game with seven points and outstanding defense in 16 minutes.
Wheeler said depth "is going to be a big part of our team."
"With the way we play, guys are going to get tired," he said. "So when we come off the bench, we try to not be taking a step back. It’s going to be very important for everybody on the bench to be contributing."
"Our bench came to play," Anderson said. "I tell guys to stay ready and Aaron was ready. Same [with] Rafael. Everyone who came off the bench contributed in a great way."
The Storm’s next game will be against Pittsburgh on Saturday at noon at MSG.
With St. John’s hosting its Big East opener next Monday against Butler, Anderson was asked if this game was more representative of what he wants. He replied, "We have more to do, but that was a better performance."
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.
