Field Level Media
Feb 16, 2021
Julian Champagnie's 21 points and 16 points and nine rebounds from Marcellus Earlington off the bench led host St. John's to a 93-84 win over Xavier on Tuesday night in Queens, N.Y.
Point guard Posh Alexander added 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Red Storm (14-8 overall, 8-7 in Big East) and Rasheem Dunn had 17 points. St. John's won its seventh in the past eight games.
The Red Storm led from the 9:43 mark of the first half on, and added to their lead in the second half. They went up 62-50 on an Alexander pass to Champagnie for a dunk, one of seven dunks for the St. Johns on the night.
Isaih Moore had three of the Red Storm's slams in head coach Mike Anderson's 400th career victory.
Zach Fremantle had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Colby Jones added 20 for Xavier (11-4, 4-4).
Earlington's 3-pointer gave St. John's a 65-52 lead, one of his four 3s. But the Musketeers stayed close, as Nate Johnson's 3 made it 65-59 with 10:51 to play.
A key offensive rebound tip-in by Alexander gave St. John's an 82-73 lead with 2:24 to play and a twisting layup from Champagnie, the Big East's leading scorer, sealed the Red Storm's win.
St. John's took a 46-38 lead into halftime, leading by as many as 10 points during the first half. Earlington came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers and a jumper, the long jump shot giving the Red Storm a 34-26 lead with 5:44 to play.
Xavier cut the lead back to two as Freemantle had 10 first-half points, but the play of the half came on an Alexander steal and transition lob to Champagnie for a dunk and a 44-35 St. John's lead.
Champagnie had 12 first-half points for the Red Storm, with Alexander dishing out seven assists.
St. John's ended Xavier's 12-game winning streak in the overall series.
--Field Level Media