St. John's basketball gets back in win column after holding off late Harvard push

The Red Storm had enough to defeat Harvard despite its late comeback bid
Nov 30, 2024; Queens, New York, USA;  St. John's basketball guard RJ Luis Jr. (12) goes up for a dunk in the second half against the Harvard Crimson at Carnesecca Arena.
Nov 30, 2024; Queens, New York, USA; St. John's basketball guard RJ Luis Jr. (12) goes up for a dunk in the second half against the Harvard Crimson at Carnesecca Arena. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
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It wasn’t pretty, but it was needed.

After a disappointing weekend in the Bahamas, the St. John’s basketball team got back in the win column against Harvard, 77-64, behind the duo of RJ Luis and Kadary Richmond, who combined for 42 points.

Things started quick for the Red Storm, using a 15-2 run to jump out to a 24-8 lead that was punctuated by back-to-back 3-pointers from seldom used freshman Jaiden Glover. Glover, who only scored a total of six points entering Saturday’s game, had 11 points at halftime on three 3-pointers, including a buzzer beater at halftime.

He was utilized in the absence of Deivon Smith, who was benched after reacting poorly on the bench during the second half of St. John’s loss to Georgia.

The Red Storm (6-2) continued its strong play after halftime, extending its lead to as many as 18 points, but could never put away the Crimson (2-6).

“Teams like Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, right now, give us a little bit of a problem. They’re 5-out and they cause problem for us defensively because we are a help team,” Rick Pitino said after the victory.

St. John’s was fortunate that Harvard struggles offensively, shooting 36.1-percent from the floor and 27.6-percent from 3-point range against the Red Storm, because the Crimson had open looks that could have put a lot more pressure on Pitino’s team.

Harvard cut its deficit to eight on multiple occasions but could never get closer thanks to the hustle plays from Brady Dunlap, who caught an airball from Zuby Ejiofor and found Luis to push the lead back to 13, 73-60, with 2:11 left.

“So, far this was one of his best games,” Pitino explained about Dunlap. “He wouldn’t let them get back in the game with his hustle…I’ll go home tonight and say Brady Dunlap was our MVP.”

Dunlap, who finished with seven rebounds, got his first basket of the game with 1:30 remaining on another offensive rebound after Luis couldn’t connect on a triple.

St. John’s shooting struggles continued, making just 22.2-percent of its 3-pointers (6-of-27), and only 1-of-13 in the second half.

It’ll be another week off for the Red Storm as they will welcome Kansas State (5-2) into Carnesecca Arena on Saturday, December 7 (11:30 a.m. ET, FOX).

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