St. John’s basketball showed its toughness and resilience in its comeback victory.
St. John’s basketball head coach Mike Anderson said he was nervous entering Saturday’s matchup with the Providence Friars (9-10, 5-8 Big East) after the Red Storm (13-7, 7-6 Big East) defeated the Villanova Wildcats on Wednesday night.
Anderson mentioned the praise his team was getting through the media and on social media and was hoping his team remained focus.
Senior guard Rasheem Dunn said the key to its six game winning streak has been staying humble throughout the highs and lows of the season.
Dunn tied a career-high with 10 assists as well as posting 12 points in the 92-81 victory for the Johnnies, “I really feel like this team is something special,” the Brooklyn, New York native said following the victory.
“I was proud of our guys,” Anderson said. And how could he not be?
The Red Storm set season-highs in field goal percentage (58.6) and three-point percentage (52.6) after its blazing star from the field by Posh Alexander and Julian Champagnie.
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St. John’s dynamic duo led the Johnnies to a 17-point lead in the first half but the Johnnies saw that lead slowly diminish thanks to the dominant paint presence of Nate Watson, who went for a career-high 30 points and eight rebus.
Champagnie led the Red Storm with 24 points and 10 rebounds and Alexander tied a career-high with 21 points.
Providence took a five-point lead but St. John’s would battle back thanks to its bench unit, Isaih Moore, Marcellus Earlington, Greg Williams Jr., and Dylan Addae-Wusu.
Moore rattled off eight straight points which pushed the St. John’s lead to as many as ten in the closing two minutes before Addae-Wusu ended any chance at a late comeback for the Friars with a driving layup.
St. John’s bench outscored Providence’s bench, 32-1.
St. John’s basketball looking to keep things rolling
The next stop for the Red Storm’s runaway train is a recent house of horrors for the Johnnies in Hinkle Fieldhouse, a building where St. John’s has lost six straight games.
Butler was the opponent that jumpstarted the turnaround for the Johnnies as it was the first in its seven wins out of eight games.
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“They hired me to win games,” Anderson said, “That’s what we’re trying to do.”
His team is doing a great job as it continues its race to the NCAA Tournament and could receive votes to be included in this weeks Associated Press Top-25 Poll.
St. John’s is scheduled to make the trip to Indianapolis on Tuesday, February 9 (9:00pm EST, Fox Sports 1).