St. John’s basketball sunk by another massive run against Marquette

Another massive run sunk the St. John’s basketball program against Marquette. 

The script has not changed for the St. John’s basketball team.

The Johnnies played very well for 20 minutes against Marquette, shooting 65.6-percent from the field and 44.4-percent from 3-point range, and leading 48-41.

Then, the Golden Eagles run came and St. John’s could do nothing about it.

Marquette opened the second half on a 16-2 run to turn its 7-point deficit into a 7-point lead as the lead ballooned to as many as 11 points in the second stanza.

“We played a hell of a first half,” St. John’s captain Joel Soriano said. “We just have to finish out games.”

St. John’s looked like it would make one last run to try and escape with the ‘must win’ game but after a David Jones dunk to cut the Golden Eagles’ lead to four, 83-79, with 3:14 to play the Johnnies would not get back on defense and allow Olivier-Maxence Prosper to convert a 3-point play of his own to sink the Red Storm’s chances.

The Golden Eagles (12-4, 4-1 Big East) would continue to up its lead, winning 96-85.

“We don’t like losing. I don’t think anybody in this world likes to lose,” Soriano continued.

“Frustrating, very frustrating. I feel like we’re right there, we’re just trying to get over the hump.”

The Johnnies (11-5, 1-4 Big East). have now allowed runs of 17-2, 16-0, 22-8, and 16-2 in its last four games, all of which have been losses.

“Right now, we haven’t become that defensive team that I want us to be,” head coach Mike Anderson said.

The 96 points was the most points allowed in regulation by St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena/Alumni Hall since the building opened in 1961.

“Our defense was terrible,”  Anderson explained.

Soriano posted 22 points and 13 rebounds while Dylan Addae-Wusu added a career-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting in addition to three rebounds and five assists.

St. John’s basketball has interesting lineup changes

St. John’s was without Andre Curbelo after the program announced he was suspended for a violation of team rules. Curbelo was not on the Red Storm bench but tried to sit incognito in the arena before being recognized.

Posh Alexander was available but brought off the bench in the loss as he finished with 11 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

Drissa Traore, a seldom used redshirt freshman, was inserted into the game for four minutes early in the first half and registered two points and two rebounds but did not see the floor again on Tuesday night.

Mike Anderson said the team was looking for “energy” when brining Traore into the game and admitted he “thought [the team] would be a little bit further along” after saying in the preseason he believed this was his most talented team during his tenure at St. John’s.

St. John’s travels to Providence (12-3, 4-0 Big East) on Saturday afternoon. (12:00p.m., FS1).