The St. John’s basketball program wrapped up its three game series in the Dominican Republic.
The next time the St. John’s basketball team takes the floor in a competitive atmosphere the regular season will only be days away as the program wrapped up its three game tour of the Dominican Republic on Monday night.
St. John’s battled the Dominican Republic U22 National Team on Friday afternoon and there were growing pains, as expected, for facing an opponent for the first time together after just only ten certified NCAA practices.
The Johnnies rallied to win, 89-87, after digging themselves a 14-point deficit in the first half but used the dynamic play of point guard Posh Alexander and Joel Soriano to secure the victory.
Alexander, who shot 21.7-percent from 3-point range last season, was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc in the first unofficial game of his junior season as he ended the night with 21 points.
Soriano posted 23 points and 15 rebounds in the opening game, both career-highs in his St. John’s tenure.
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DePaul transfer David Jones was the only other player to reach double-figures in the game while Rafael Pinzon did not score in the victory and Dylan Addae-Wusu was unavailable to play.
St. John’s took a step down in competition in its Sunday afternoon contest against the GUG All-Stars, headlined on the sidelines by former Red Storm superstar Felipe Lopez.
The Johnnies nearly went wire-to-wire with its 93-79 victory behind 20 points from Jones and another stellar performances from Alexander and Soriano.
Montez Mathis was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field for ten points as Addae-Wusu returned to the court for the Red Storm.
St. John’s basketball falters in biggest test of trip
The final game of the Dominican Republic trip was the most difficult for the Red Storm as the Johnnies battled the Senior National Team, led by Indiana Pacers star rookie Chris Duarte.
Durate commanded the ball on offense and proved that college players do not have a good chance at stopping a professional basketball player which just posted 13.1 points per game in his first season in the association.
The All-Rookie Second Team selection dropped 29 points in the 93-84 victory but St. John’s put up another quality effort behind the trio of Soriano, Alexander, and Jones.
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The three players combined for 49 points as Joel Soriano went for 22 points and 16 rebounds and Posh Alexander was 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
All in all, it was a positive trip for the Red Storm as the team got much needed time on the court with each other but now the challenge becomes trying to carry over this momentum to fall practice as the regular season begins on November 7 against Merrimack.