Ugly as win
Johnnies struggle, leave Fla. victorious
ST. JOHN’S 46 CENTRAL FLORIDA 43
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — They won’t frame it. They would prefer to forget it. They aren’t even planning to watch film of it. But St. John’s is leaving sunny Florida 2-1 — and that was Chris Mullin’s takeaway from his team’s 46-43 rock fight of a victory over Central Florida in the third-place game of the AdvoCare Invitational at HP Field House. “From our standpoint, just to hang in there and get the win was the only thing we really concerned ourselves with,” Mullin said. “Probably as ugly a game as you’re going to see on both sides. Someone had to win, so I was glad it was us.” The Johnnies blew an early 10-0 lead, and nearly coughed up a 10-point edge with 6:03 remaining against the AAC program, which has struggled without lead guard B.J. Taylor (foot injury). However, in yet another example of the team’s growth from last year, the Johnnies found a way to prevail, improving to 6-1 on the season, by far the best start of the Mullin era.
“[Saturday] on our day off all we talked about was moving on and making sure we leave Orlando 6-1,” said junior forward Marvin Clark II, who had his best game in his short St. John’s career, scoring 11 points and adding a career-high seven rebounds.
It wasn’t easy on the eyes. Star sophomore guards Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett combined to shoot a ghastly 6-of-31 from the f ield, the Johnnies committed a season-high 22 turnovers, shot 27 percent from the f ield by settling for far too many jump shots, and got to the free-throw line only eight times. The offense struggled against a zone for the second straight game.
But the defense carried them, tying a program record with 15 blocks — five by Tariq Owens.
The Red Storm forced 21 turnovers, held Central Florida to 26 percent shooting, and neutralized 7-foot-6 mountain Tacko Fall with their quickness. Justin Simon (eight points, eight rebounds, four blocks), giving up 13 inches to the Senegalese center, blocked his shot once, and Fall (eight points, six re- bounds, four blocks) committed seven turnovers, struggling once he got the ball in the paint.
“We didn’t have that in our package at all [last year],” Mullin said. “We couldn’t win a game with our defense. We’re proving we can [now].”
Ponds, who did have 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals, awoke late, scoring all six of his points in the final 6:21. The Red Storm forced a key shotclock violation in the final minute, and escaped when Ceasar DeJesus and Dayon Griffin missed potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final seconds. When Griffin’s shot didn’t go down, Mullin took a deep breath. St. John’s was headed home on a positive note after several uneasy moments.
“We’re probably not going to watch this film,” he said with a smile. “Just be grateful we’re 6-1.”