It was a marquee early season game that lived up to the billing, but a lot of the concerns for the St. John’s basketball team were brought to the forefront against No. 15 Alabama’s explosive offense.
The No. 5 Johnnies (1-1) struggled to get consistent stops against the Tide, falling 103-96.
Alabama’s (2-0) dynamic trio of guards – Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway, and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. – combined for 63 points while wing Taylor Bol Bowen proved vital with 17 points and nine rebounds.
It was the first time the Red Storm surrendered over 100 points under Rick Pitino and the first time St. John’s scored at least 96 points in a regulation game and lost since 1965, which was Lou Carnesecca’s first year as head coach.
An Oziyah Sellers jumper gave the Red Storm an 87-86 lead with 6:09 to play, erasing multiple 11-point deficits in the second half, but the Red Storm offense went cold – finishing the game 3-of-10 from the floor, including five consecutive missed shots.
“I think we were a little bit stagnant,” Zuby Ejiofor detailed of the Johnnies’ offensive struggles late in the game. “We didn’t create ball movement…guys were just standing around watching one guy dribble the ball”
The game featured 18 lead changes and seven ties, but the Storm could never get over the hump inside the final five minutes – watching the Crimson Tide finish the game on a 17-9 run.
Alabama only turned the basketball over seven times and gained 19 second chance points off of 14 offensive rebounds.
“We made a lot of fundamental mistakes down the stretch,” Pitino explained. “We lost this game at the defensive end.”
Sellers and Ian Jackson came alive in the second half, combining for 24 points, following an empty first half for the Red Storm’s backcourt that saw the entire team outside of Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins only contribute eight total points.
“They wanted to play like Alabama,” Pitino said of his guards. “And it’s the one thing we wanted to stay away from is quick shots, and we were quick shooting a lot, not letting them have to play defense.”
Ejiofor, who finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Hopkins had 38 of the team’s 44 points in the first half as the Red Storm trailed by nine, 53-44.
St. John’s guard Dylan Darling did not play due to a right calf strain and will be given five days off with the hope of returning next Saturday against William & Mary.