A WIN’S A WIN
This wasn’t the kind of flashback Chris Mullin envisioned when he returned to his alma mater to coach.
The idea was to restore St. John’s to its glory days of 30 years ago, when Mullin led the Johnnies to a Final Four. But Wednesday, the Red Storm went back in time for the wrong reasons, knocking off MAAC foe Niagara, 4844, the first victory by St. John’s in which it posted less than 50 points since December 1984 against Fordham, when Mullin was a senior.
“A win is a win, right?” Mullin said, perhaps trying to convince himself. “We can be happy about that, but we got a lot of improvement to make in a lot of areas.”
No, Mullin wasn’t taking any bows for this slog of a victory that included a scoreless stretch of 7:51 in the second half, a win as ugly as some of the red outfits worn as part of the night’s “Red Out.” St. John’s (63) committed 18 turnovers and has averaged that many in its last four games. The Storm attempted just 14 free throws — 10 fewer than Niagara — and made just seven, and shot 33 percent from the field.
“Most of them are freshmen, most of them are in this country for the first time,” Mullin said. “I’m not quite sure this shouldn’t be this way. What are you really going to expect?
“That doesn’t mean we don’t keep pushing and keep working them. But you look at the facts, you go, ‘Oh, yeah, that makes sense.’ If you don’t, I would say you’re being unrealistic.”
Niagara (37) wasn’t good enough to take advantage — though the Purple Eagles nearly pulled even in the final minute — but the cupcake portion of the St. John’s schedule is coming to a close soon with nonconference games against Syracuse and South Carolina, followed by the Big East slate beginning in just a few weeks.
“We know we have to play better because we are playing [better teams],” said junior forward Christian Jones, who had 10 points and seven rebounds. “That shouldn’t scare us. We have to keep our composure and play our game.”
St. John’s hopes to get bluechip freshman Marcus LoVett Jr. cleared next week by the NCAA Eligibility Center, as long as his firstsemester grades are as good as the people within the program expect them to be. The fourstar point guard from Chicago, ruled a partial qualifier, was expected to replace Rysheed Jordan, but in LoVett’s place, Italian sharpshooter Federico Mussini has struggled with handling the ball.
That continued Wednesday night, when Mussini (teamhigh 11 points) committed five turnovers and was unable to get dribble penetration.
“I know I can do better,” Mussini said. “I have to do better.”
He didn’t get much help from his veteran friends, either. Graduate transfers Ron Mvouika and Durand Johnson combined for eight points on 3of12 shooting, and senior Felix Balamou committed five turnovers.
The scoring drought of 7:51 didn’t cost St. John’s a win because Niagara scored just seven points in that stretch. Mvouika ended the scoreless streak with a layup and Mussini added a 3pointer, quickly pushing the lead back to 10 with 5:31 to go. That lead proved too large for Niagara to overcome. Still, St. John’s needed to hold on in the final seconds after nearly blowing an eightpoint lead in the last 2:14.
“There isn’t a lack of areas to improve upon,” Mullin said.