It was sunshine and rainbows in the lone St. John’s basketball exhibition game of the year.
Fans were back in the building in Carnesecca Arena for the first time since March 2020 and the St. John’s basketball team put on a show for those who made the trip to Queens for the exhibition game.
The Johnnies hosted Baruch College, a Division III program, and rolled to a 107-43 victory.
Given the quality of opponent, the performances cannot be analyzed too deeply but the Red Storm looked good for playing a different opponent for the first time with __ new pieces on the floor.
Head coach Mike Anderson rolled out a starting lineup of Posh Alexander, Stef Smith, Montez Mathis, Julian Champagnie, and Joel Soriano.
St. John’s did not have sophomore guard Dylan Addae-Wusu available, as he continues to recover from offseason ankle surgery, nor freshman Drissa Traore.
The ESPN3 broadcast commented that Traore will redshirt this season, although that has not been confirmed by St. John’s.
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Julian Champagnie led all scorers with 19 points and 13 rebounds as 12 of the 13 players who saw the floor for the Johnnies scored at least one point.
Posh Alexander ended the night with six points, five rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Johnnies shot 62.0-percent from the floor and 35.0-percent from 3-point range yet only 60.0-percent from the free throw line.
Mike Anderson’s team forced 23 turnovers in the game and netted 32 points off turnovers.
However, the Johnnies did turn the ball over 18 times themselves.
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Fordham transfer Joel Soriano needed a half to get comfortable in the flow of the game as he ended with 17 points, 13 in the second half, on perfect 6-for-6 shooting.
Freshmen Rafael Pinzon, O’mar Stanley, and Rutgers transfer Montez Mathis showed off their abilities to thrive in the up-tempo system that Anderson runs, making plays all over the court as the trio tallied 26 points, ten rebounds, and ten steals.
Hofstra transfer Tareq Coburn also showed off his effortless scoring ability with 13 points in 18 minutes on 6-of-8 shooting and 1-of-2 from 3-point range.
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Vermont’s Stef Smith displayed his smooth shooting stroke and playmaking abilities with eight points and six assists on 2-of-4 shooting from downtown.
Esahia Nyiwe and Purdue transfer Aaron Wheeler showed their potential in the front court as Wheeler posted 11 points, three rebounds, and three blocks while Nyiwe pulled down eight boards in 17 minutes.
St. John’s will host Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon in a closed door scrimmage before opening up the regular season against Mississippi Valley State on November 9 at 7:45pm EST.