Soriano turns it on at right time for Storm
The Joel Soriano of January returned at the right time.
St. John’s captain was at his best when the fifthseeded Johnnies needed him most. He turned in his best effort in several weeks, keying the Big East Tournament quarterfinal rout of No. 4 Seton Hall, 91-72, on Thursday afternoon.
“The big fella was great tonight,” coach Rick Pitino said. “If he plays like that going forward, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
Soriano had struggled in St. John’s two regular-season losses to Seton Hall, outplayed by counterpart Jaden Bediako. He was by far the best big man on the court in the third meeting, producing 14 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Bediako was held to seven points and one rebound in 29 mostly ineffective minutes.
“I knew I had to come in here and dominate my position,” Soriano, a Yonkers native, said. “I think Bediako the last two times we played, he dominated me on the offensive glass, blocking shots, doing every little thing for his team. So I just tried to be the better [player] at my position today. And that’s what I’m going to try to do [Friday].”
RJ Luis sought out Pitino at the beginning of the week, but it had nothing to do with playing time. The sophomore wing was going to practice every day in the lead-up to Thursday’s game. Luis had been limited all year by shin splints that prevented him from doing much in between games.
“He came to me and said, ‘Coach, this is the important time. This March, and I need to practice,’” Pitino said. “I said, ‘well, how are you feeling?’ He said, ‘it doesn’t matter. I need to practice.”
Luis responded with a strong performance of 18 points, nine rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes. That included a buzzerbeating pull-up jumper to end the first half that sent St. John’s into the locker room with momentum and a five-point lead.
“I don’t think I’ve done that in college yet,” Luis said. “So that was amazing.”