It was a similar start for the St. John’s basketball team on Sunday afternoon in its second game of the season as the opener on Monday.
The No. 13 Johnnies came flying out of the gates but, this time, they never took their foot off the gas. It resulted in a 104-65 victory over Iona.
Ian Jackson started the scoring with a 3-pointer. He was matched by Sadiku Ibine Ayo, capping his homecoming which included a pregame video montage commemorating his three years with the team.
Then, Jackson banged another triple. And then did it again.
Before long, it was 16-3 Johnnies and the lead only ballooned from there.
At halftime, St. John’s was ahead by 31 points, 54-23, matching its largest lead of the game.
In the second half, the Red Storm lead by as many as 43 points, 83-40, and its lead never slipped under 30 points.
The tone was set in the first half after St. John’s forced Iona into 15 turnovers which turned into 26 points – more than the Gaels scored in total during the first half – and held them to 7-of-24 (29.2-percent) from the field.
Tounde Yessoufou led the charge for the Red Storm with 23 points in only 21 minutes while adding seven rebounds, two blocks, and three steals.
Jackson chipped in 17 points while Keyshawn Hall added 13 points and Quinn Ellis went for seven points, five rebounds, 11 assists, and three steals.
St. John’s took the advice of its head coach to shoot more 3-pointers. After going 6-for-20 in its opener against Monmouth, the Johnnies connected on 13-of-28 (46.4-percent) in the blowout.
The Red Storm continue its five-game home stand to begin the season back at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday night (7:00 p.m. ET, Peacock) against Colgate (0-2).
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