Figueroa guides Johnnies over New Hampshire
St. John’s saw Mustapha Heron open his senior season with the most points of any player in the program in nearly three decades. On Tuesday night, the Red Storm saw the luxury of having a second star.
While Heron tied a careerlow with five points (2 of 12 shooting from the field), and helped put St. John’s in an early double-digit hole against New Hampshire, fellow preseason All-Big East Second Team selection LJ Figueroa rescued the Red Storm from a potential upset by tying a career-high 25 points in a 74-61 win at Carnesecca Arena.
Following back-to-back 30-point wins, St. John’s (3-0) led by only three with less than seven minutes remaining, but Figueroa sparked the team on both ends of the floor, hitting 5 of 9 3-pointers, with eight rebounds and five steals.
“He didn’t panic. I think that’s the biggest thing,” coach Mike Anderson said. “Our team didn’t panic. We know what he’s capable of doing and so he had an opportunity to do that.
“Anytime you have some adversity, I think it’s great. We’re three games into a season. This is where you learn how to become a team. This is where you learn who are the guys that are gonna step up defensively. Who are gonna be our go-to guys? Who is gonna step up to the line and make free throws and keep momentum plays going?”
Heron’s struggles started early, picking up two fouls in the first five minutes. He left the floor with the Johnnies trailing by one. He returned three minutes later with the Wildcats up 18-8, while the Red Storm missed nine straight shots, and went nearly six minutes without a point.
New Hampshire stretched its lead to 12, and led for more than 15 minutes in the half, enjoying repeated open looks on the perimeter and ease penetrating in the lane.
“We’re not the type of team that can just show up and win,” Anderson said. “We’ve gotta be blue collar. ... I really believe we came out and just went through the motions early on. When I got some guys out there on the bench, I thought they triggered the defensive effort and that trickled over to the offensive side.”
After forcing just three turnovers through the first 12 minutes, Anderson’s trademark pressure arrived, with St. John’s allowing 11 points over the final 10:27 of the first half. Figueroa opened without scoring for nearly 13 minutes, but closed strong, scoring seven straight points late to help St. John’s take a 36-34 halftime lead.
“They punched us in the mouth the first half,” Figueroa said. “The first half didn’t go how we wanted it to, but we all came together. I think the guys fought well.”
The star stayed silent. The supporting cast spoke up.
Josh Roberts was key inside, putting up 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. David Caraher scored nine points in nine minutes off the bench. Freshman Julian Champagnie had 11 points and nine rebounds, scoring six points in a late 11-0 run, which kept the Red Storm comfortably ahead in the final minutes.
“It shows you we’re not just a one or two-man team,” Anderson said. “We scored 74 points and your leadingscorer only gets five points. It show the team that we got some guys that are capable of filling in and helping the team win.”