No. 22 St. John's ranked and ready for Wagner
Even though there were portions of the first two games that St. John's coach Rick Pitino was not enamored with, his team did enough to get ranked for the first time in six seasons.
Back in the Top 25 for the first time since January 2019, the 22nd-ranked Red Storm will host Wagner on Wednesday night in Queens, N.Y., for another tune-up before the schedule gets tougher.
St. John's (2-0) opened Pitino's second season with eight newcomers and posted a pair of blowout victories.
The Red Storm started with a 92-60 win over Fordham on Nov. 4 but were sluggish in the opening minutes. Then St. John's was threatened even more in Saturday's 96-73 win over Quinnipiac. The Red Storm trailed by four at halftime against the preseason favorite from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference but then shot 52.6 percent in a 61-point second half.
"Sometimes you get what you deserve," Pitino said. "We had two of the worst practices that we've had all season. I told them it's going to bite you in the behind if you practice like that, and it did."
Ultimately, talent won out, and it is a scenario Pitino hopes to avoid again, especially since St. John's will host New Mexico on Sunday at Madison Square Garden and will face No. 12 Baylor next week in a tournament in the Bahamas with a field that includes No. 11 Tennessee and Virginia.
While R.J. Luis led St. John's with 24 points and 13 rebounds vs. Quinnipiac, two other players continued their strong starts. Simeon Wilcher followed his 17 points against Fordham with 14 on Saturday, and Brady Dunlap finished with a career-high 20 in that matchup.
"Going into today's game, we had a couple of rough practices, so coach got into us at the start, but at the end he was like we just got to bounce back," Dunlap said.
The Red Storm also won decisively without standout defensive player Aaron Scott, who is expected to return from an illness on Wednesday.
Wagner (1-1) will play its second game against a ranked opponent and the first of three games against a Big East foe.
After shooting 34.9 percent from the field in its season-opening 75-52 loss at then-No. 25 Rutgers on Nov. 6, the Seahawks cruised to a 94-52 rout Saturday of Manor College, a team from the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Ja'Kair Sanchez, a Division II transfer, scored 17 points to lead five in double figures. Tyje Kelton added 15 as the Seahawks scored 48 by halftime and were 15 of 29 from 3-point range.
"I'm glad to come out with a win. I'm glad we played in spurts potentially how we could," Wagner coach Donald Copeland said. "Probably still a long way from where we need to be, but it was good to get in the win column."
St. John's leads the all-time series 19-2, and the schools will meet for the first time since November 2019.
--Field Level Media
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
3:19 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
3:19 | Â | Ja'Kair Sanchez shooting foul (RJ Luis Jr. draws the foul) | Â | |
3:24 | Â | Zaire Williams turnover (bad pass) (RJ Luis Jr. steals) | Â | |
3:57 | +2 | Deivon Smith makes two point layup | 20-27 | |
4:04 | Â | Deivon Smith defensive rebound | Â | |
4:06 | Â | Zaire Williams misses three point jump shot | Â | |
4:33 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. turnover (bad pass) (Zaire Williams steals) | Â | |
4:38 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound | Â | |
4:40 | Â | Javier Ezquerra misses two point jump shot | Â | |
4:59 | Â | Simeon Wilcher personal foul (Zaire Williams draws the foul) | Â | |
5:01 | +1 | RJ Luis Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 20-25 | |
5:01 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â | |
5:01 | Â | R.J. Greene personal foul (RJ Luis Jr. draws the foul) | Â | |
5:01 | Â | Jump ball. Simeon Wilcher vs. Keyontae Lewis (Red Storm gains possession) | Â | |
5:01 | Â | Simeon Wilcher offensive rebound | Â | |
5:07 | Â | Aaron Scott misses three point jump shot | Â | |
5:26 | Â | Seahawks turnover (shot clock violation) | Â | |
5:54 | Â | Zavier Fitch defensive rebound | Â | |
5:56 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. misses two point jump shot | Â | |
6:04 | +2 | Keyontae Lewis makes two point layup | 20-24 | |
6:12 | Â | Keyontae Lewis offensive rebound | Â | |
6:14 | Â | Keyontae Lewis misses two point layup | Â | |
6:36 | +1 | Aaron Scott makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 18-24 | |
6:36 | +1 | Aaron Scott makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 18-23 | |
6:36 | Â | Tyje Kelton personal foul (Aaron Scott draws the foul) | Â | |
6:39 | Â | Tyje Kelton turnover (lost ball) (Aaron Scott steals) | Â | |
6:56 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
6:58 | Â | R.J. Greene offensive rebound | Â | |
7:00 | Â | R.J. Greene misses two point layup | Â | |
7:03 | Â | R.J. Greene offensive rebound | Â | |
7:05 | Â | Deivon Smith blocks R.J. Greene's two point layup | Â | |
7:31 | +2 | Aaron Scott makes two point dunk (Deivon Smith assists) | 18-22 | |
7:40 | +3 | Javier Ezquerra makes three point jump shot (Zaire Williams assists) | 18-20 | |
7:58 | Â | Vince Iwuchukwu turnover (lost ball) (Zavier Fitch steals) | Â | |
8:11 | Â | Vince Iwuchukwu defensive rebound | Â | |
8:13 | Â | Vince Iwuchukwu blocks R.J. Greene's two point layup | Â | |
8:39 | Â | Zavier Fitch defensive rebound | Â | |
8:39 | Â | Kadary Richmond misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | Â | |
8:40 | Â | Tyje Kelton shooting foul (Kadary Richmond draws the foul) | Â | |
8:40 | +2 | Kadary Richmond makes two point jump shot | 15-20 | |
8:51 | Â | Deivon Smith defensive rebound | Â | |
8:53 | Â | R.J. Greene misses two point jump shot | Â | |
9:23 | Â | Tyje Kelton defensive rebound | Â | |
9:25 | Â | Simeon Wilcher misses three point jump shot | Â | |
9:31 | +1 | R.J. Greene makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 15-18 | |
9:31 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor shooting foul (R.J. Greene draws the foul) | Â | |
9:31 | +2 | R.J. Greene makes two point layup | 14-18 | |
9:31 | Â | R.J. Greene offensive rebound | Â | |
9:33 | Â | Tyje Kelton misses two point layup | Â | |
9:39 | Â | Tyje Kelton offensive rebound | Â | |
9:41 | Â | Tyje Kelton misses three point jump shot | Â | |
9:53 | Â | Kadary Richmond personal foul (Javier Ezquerra draws the foul) | Â | |
9:58 | +1 | Simeon Wilcher makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 12-18 | |
9:58 | +1 | Simeon Wilcher makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 12-17 | |
9:58 | Â | R.J. Greene shooting foul (Simeon Wilcher draws the foul) | Â | |
10:01 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound | Â | |
10:03 | Â | Zaire Williams misses three point jump shot | Â | |
10:09 | Â | Simeon Wilcher turnover (lost ball) (R.J. Greene steals) | Â | |
10:21 | Â | Javier Ezquerra turnover (traveling) | Â | |
10:36 | +1 | Deivon Smith makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 12-16 | |
10:36 | Â | Deivon Smith misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â | |
10:36 | Â | Zae Blake shooting foul (Deivon Smith draws the foul) | Â | |
10:57 | +1 | R.J. Greene makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 12-15 | |
10:57 | Â | Brady Dunlap shooting foul (R.J. Greene draws the foul) | Â | |
10:57 | +2 | R.J. Greene makes two point layup (Javier Ezquerra assists) | 11-15 | |
11:21 | +1 | RJ Luis Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 9-15 | |
11:21 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â | |
11:21 | Â | Ja'Kair Sanchez shooting foul (RJ Luis Jr. draws the foul) | Â | |
11:26 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. defensive rebound | Â | |
11:28 | Â | Zaire Williams misses three point jump shot | Â | |
11:54 | +1 | RJ Luis Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 9-14 | |
11:54 | +1 | RJ Luis Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 9-13 | |
11:54 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
11:55 | Â | Javier Ezquerra personal foul (RJ Luis Jr. draws the foul) | Â | |
12:17 | +2 | Javier Ezquerra makes two point jump shot (Keyontae Lewis assists) | 9-12 | |
12:42 | Â | Zaire Williams defensive rebound | Â | |
12:42 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | Â | |
12:42 | Â | Rob Taylor II shooting foul (RJ Luis Jr. draws the foul) | Â | |
12:42 | +2 | RJ Luis Jr. makes two point layup (Simeon Wilcher assists) | 7-12 | |
12:53 | Â | Zavier Fitch turnover (offensive foul) | Â | |
12:53 | Â | Zavier Fitch offensive foul (Brady Dunlap draws the foul) | Â | |
13:14 | +3 | Brady Dunlap makes three point jump shot (RJ Luis Jr. assists) | 7-10 | |
13:35 | +2 | Zavier Fitch makes two point layup | 7-7 | |
13:48 | Â | Zaire Williams defensive rebound | Â | |
13:48 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | Â | |
13:48 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â | |
13:48 | Â | Rob Taylor II shooting foul (Zuby Ejiofor draws the foul) | Â | |
13:51 | Â | Zaire Williams personal foul (RJ Luis Jr. draws the foul) | Â | |
13:52 | Â | Red Storm offensive rebound | Â | |
13:54 | Â | Deivon Smith misses three point jump shot | Â | |
14:10 | Â | Seahawks turnover (shot clock violation) | Â | |
14:10 | Â | Rob Taylor II offensive rebound | Â | |
14:12 | Â | Kadary Richmond blocks Rob Taylor II's two point layup | Â | |
14:43 | Â | Kadary Richmond turnover (bad pass) | Â | |
14:58 | Â | RJ Luis Jr. defensive rebound | Â | |
15:00 | Â | Javier Ezquerra misses three point jump shot | Â | |
15:27 | Â | Keyontae Lewis defensive rebound | Â | |
15:29 | Â | Zuby Ejiofor misses two point layup | Â | |
15:40 | Â | Zaire Williams turnover (bad pass) (Brady Dunlap steals) | Â | |
15:52 | +1 | Deivon Smith makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 5-7 | |
15:52 | +1 | Deivon Smith makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 5-6 | |
15:52 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
15:52 | Â | Zae Blake shooting foul (Deivon Smith draws the foul) | Â | |
15:57 | Â | Javier Ezquerra turnover (lost ball) (Deivon Smith steals) | Â | |
16:13 | Â | Javier Ezquerra offensive rebound | Â | |
16:15 | Â | Zaire Williams misses three point jump shot | Â | |
16:31 | Â | Zae Blake defensive rebound | Â | |
16:33 | Â | Keyontae Lewis blocks Vince Iwuchukwu's two point layup | Â | |
16:51 | +3 | Tyje Kelton makes three point jump shot (Keyontae Lewis assists) | 5-5 | |
17:16 | +2 | Vince Iwuchukwu makes two point jump shot | 2-5 | |
17:28 | Â | Deivon Smith defensive rebound | Â | |
17:30 | Â | Keyontae Lewis misses two point jump shot | Â | |
17:40 | Â | Zae Blake defensive rebound | Â | |
17:42 | Â | Aaron Scott misses three point jump shot | Â | |
17:50 | Â | Keyontae Lewis turnover (offensive foul) | Â | |
17:50 | Â | Keyontae Lewis offensive foul (Deivon Smith draws the foul) | Â | |
18:11 | +3 | Simeon Wilcher makes three point jump shot (Deivon Smith assists) | 2-3 | |
18:26 | Â | Simeon Wilcher defensive rebound | Â | |
18:28 | Â | Javier Ezquerra misses three point jump shot | Â | |
18:46 | Â | Deivon Smith turnover (offensive foul) | Â | |
18:46 | Â | Deivon Smith offensive foul (Tyje Kelton draws the foul) | Â | |
18:52 | Â | Vince Iwuchukwu defensive rebound | Â | |
18:54 | Â | Zaire Williams misses three point jump shot | Â | |
19:14 | Â | Deivon Smith turnover (lost ball) (Javier Ezquerra steals) | Â | |
19:36 | +1 | Keyontae Lewis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 2-0 | |
19:36 | +1 | Keyontae Lewis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 1-0 | |
19:36 | Â | Brady Dunlap shooting foul (Keyontae Lewis draws the foul) | Â | |
20:00 | Â | Keyontae Lewis vs. Vince Iwuchukwu (Seahawks gains possession) | Â |
Min. Per Game | ||
Pts. Per Game | ||
Ast. Per Game | ||
Reb. Per Game | ||
Field Goal % | ||
Three Point % | ||
Free Throw % |
 | Ja'Kair Sanchez shooting foul (RJ Luis Jr. draws the foul) | 3:19 |
 | Zaire Williams turnover (bad pass) (RJ Luis Jr. steals) | 3:24 |
+ 2 | Deivon Smith makes two point layup | 3:57 |
 | Deivon Smith defensive rebound | 4:04 |
 | Zaire Williams misses three point jump shot | 4:06 |
 | RJ Luis Jr. turnover (bad pass) (Zaire Williams steals) | 4:33 |
 | Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound | 4:38 |
 | Javier Ezquerra misses two point jump shot | 4:40 |
 | Simeon Wilcher personal foul (Zaire Williams draws the foul) | 4:59 |
+ 1 | RJ Luis Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 5:01 |
 | RJ Luis Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | 5:01 |
Team Stats | ||
---|---|---|
Points | 20 | 27 |
Field Goals | 7-24 (29.2%) | 7-14 (50.0%) |
3-Pointers | 2-10 (20.0%) | 2-6 (33.3%) |
Free Throws | 4-4 (100.0%) | 11-18 (61.1%) |
Total Rebounds | 15 | 12 |
Offensive | 7 | 1 |
Defensive | 8 | 10 |
Team | 0 | 1 |
Assists | 4 | 4 |
Steals | 4 | 4 |
Blocks | 1 | 3 |
Turnovers | 7 | 6 |
Fouls | 14 | 6 |
Technicals | 0 | 0 |
|
Team Stats | |||
---|---|---|---|
Wagner 1-1 | 73.0 PPG | 41.0 RPG | 16.5 APG |
22 St. John's 2-0 | 94.0 PPG | 46.5 RPG | 19.5 APG |
Key Players | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
00
|
. Greene G | 6.0 PPG | 5.5 RPG | 2.0 APG | 36.4 FG% |
00
|
. Luis Jr. G | 18.0 PPG | 7.5 RPG | 2.0 APG | 50.0 FG% |
Top Scorers | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
R. Greene G | 6 PTS | 3 REB | 0 AST | ||
R. Luis Jr. G | 6 PTS | 2 REB | 1 AST |
On Court | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
R. Greene | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2/6 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
J. Ezquerra | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2/5 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
K. Lewis | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Z. Fitch | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Z. Williams | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
On Court | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
R. Greene | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2/6 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
J. Ezquerra | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2/5 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
K. Lewis | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Z. Fitch | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Z. Williams | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
On Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
R. Taylor II | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
J. Sanchez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
D. Howell-South | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
M. Anderson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
R. Moore | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Total | 20 | 15 | 4 | 7/24 | 2/10 | 4/4 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
On Court | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
R. Luis Jr. | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 4/7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
S. Wilcher | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 2/2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
D. Smith | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 3/4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
A. Scott | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1/3 | 0/2 | 2/2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Z. Ejiofor | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
On Court | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
R. Luis Jr. | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 4/7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
S. Wilcher | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 2/2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
D. Smith | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 3/4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
A. Scott | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1/3 | 0/2 | 2/2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Z. Ejiofor | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
On Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
K. Richmond | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
S. Ibine Ayo | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
R. Prey | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
K. Maker | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
J. Glover | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
L. Liotopoulos | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Total | 27 | 11 | 4 | 7/14 | 2/6 | 11/18 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 |