Field Level Media
Dec 5, 2018
Senior forward Marvin Clark II had a season-high 21 points and all five starters posted double figures as St. John's remained undefeated with an 85-71 win over the visiting Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers on Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena in Jamaica, N.Y.
Dee Barnes had 26 points and Jalen Gibbs added 16 for the pesky Mountaineers, who fell to 0-8 on the year but kept it close until the last four minutes of the game.
St. John's shot 57.4 percent from the field in its second straight come-from-behind win to improve to 8-0, extending its best start since 1990. On Saturday, Shamorie Ponds had 37 points to help the Red Storm come back from 16 points down to beat Georgia Tech 76-73.
St. John's led by just three with eight minutes left but extended the lead to double-digits behind a balanced scoring attack, as Mustapha Heron had 17 points, Justin Simon 14 points and seven assists, LJ Figueroa 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Ponds 11 points and seven assists.
Against the woeful Mountaineers, St. John's found itself challenged early, as Mount St. Mary's led by three 10 minutes into the game. But the Red Storm went on a 17-7 run to take control as they survived an onslaught from Barnes.
Barnes had 15 at the half and Gibbs added 12 as Mount St. Mary's got off to a solid start in the field. The Mountaineers, who came into the game shooting under 30 percent from 3-point range, went 7-of-15 shooting from deep in the first half.
St. John's also was hot to open the game, shooting 56 percent from the field in the first half as the Storm built a 42-37 halftime lead.
By the first television timeout of the second half, Barnes had already eclipsed his career high in scoring, and the Mountaineers connected on 12 3-pointers after coming into the game averaging fewer than seven.
--Field Level Media