Coast is clear
SJU mails in getaway win over D2 Molloy
St. John’s isn’t back yet — and was just reminded showing up won’t be enough to get there.
Coming off a supposed statement win over Nebraska, St. John’s lacked focus and urgency in Monday night’s matchup with Division II Molloy, trailing for nearly eight minutes before coasting on its genetic advantages to a 71-43 win at Carnesecca Arena, for its first fourgame win streak since the 2014-15 season.
St. John’s (4-0) resumes action against the varsity in the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, opening the three-game tournament against Oregon State on Thanksgiving.
“As we move forward from here on out, we’re not gonna have the ability just to rely on our athleticism and our talent,” coach Chris Mullin said. “We know what we have to do. We’ve seen what type of team we can be.”
For a team whose biggest accomplishment this season has been beating a Big Ten opponent picked to finish 13th in the 14team conference, St. John’s acted as if it could flip a switch at any moment, and begin dominating like it did days earlier against Nebraska.
The Red Storm’s overconfidence was evident early, as the smaller and slower Lions (1-4) outhustled the Big East athletes, prompting Mullin to bring all four of his scholarship reserve players off the bench. Molloy held a 16-11 lead with less than nine minutes remaining, repeatedly penetrating past St. John’s defenders into the paint, and winning the battle on the glass.
“[Mullin] certainly wasn’t happy, but the way coach is, he’s a positive coach,” Marvin Clark II said. “He’s not gonna make it into a catastrophe. ... We played a little too lax.
“Our team, how we play, and how skilled and talented we are, we feel like we can play with anybody, but it’s just a matter of if we’re gonna come out and bring it from the jump.”
Even though St. John’s made just 1-of-13 3-pointers, and hit just 33.3 percent from the field in the first half, the Red Storm’s talent monopoly eventually turned the momentum for good.
Leading by three with one minute left in the first half, St. John’s closed strong, taking a 28-21 lead to the break. Shamorie Ponds (14 points, six rebounds) opened the second half with a 3pointer, sparking a 22-2 run that would seal the team’s first 4-0 start since Steve Lavin’s last season in Queens.
The Red Storm used the second half to show what the whole night should have been, as they shot nearly 60 percent from the field and held Molloy under 32 percent shooting, while finishing with 40 points in the paint, and 26 points off turnovers. Justin Simon finished with seven points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, while Bashir Ahmed added 14 points and five rebounds.
With such a mismatch, there seemed to be little to gain from the meeting, but St. John’s left for its first games away from home believing it might have had the perfect send-off.
“We really needed this game. This was a wake-up call for us,” Ahmed said. “No matter what team we’re going against, we’ve got to bring it out. Whether it’s a big team or a small team, we’ve got to come out with the same intensity and the same mindset.”