Providence basketball comes up short against St. John's; what the Red Storm did to hold off the Friars
NEW YORK — A grieving David Jones scored 16 points, AJ Storr added 15 and St. John's beat No. 20 Providence, 73-68, on Saturday, handing the Friars a costly defeat in their pursuit of a second consecutive regular-season conference title.
Joel Soriano had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Storm (15-11, 5-10 Big East), who had lost three straight and five of six. It was his 20th double-double this season — he entered the game second in the nation in that category.
"I thought they outplayed us. I thought they outhustled us," said Providence coach Ed Cooley. "They hadn’t been playing the way they wanted to. They’d lost a couple in a row. I thought we faced a very desperate team.
"I thought that was a complete team effort."
Posh Alexander added 10 points and a season-high nine assists, and Dylan Addae-Wusu scored 13 for St. John's, which built a big early lead at Madison Square Garden and led nearly the entire way.
Bryce Hopkins equaled a career-best with 29 points for the Friars (18-7, 10-4), who had won four of five. The only loss during that stretch was in overtime at then-No. 16 Xavier.
Hopkins also grabbed nine rebounds, but Providence shot just 33% from the field.
"I think we took ourselves out of the game. I don’t know what your eyes saw, but we had wide-open shots that just didn’t go down," Cooley said. "I thought we got shots that we normally make. They just didn’t go down."
Devin Carter had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Friars, who are in a crowded race with three other teams atop the Big East standings.
"This was the first time I’ve felt all year that my team just didn’t have it," said Cooley. "We were listless early in the first half. We were listless early in the second half.
"I thought they outplayed us. I thought they outhustled us. I thought we competed today physically. I don’t think we competed today mentally or emotionally."
Jones came off the bench after missing two games to go back home to the Dominican Republic following his father’s death. The junior forward entered averaging 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
St. John’s jumped out to a 25-9 lead after 9½ minutes behind Alexander and Jones, but the Friars closed the first half with a strong push and trailed 37-35 at the break.
They tied it 39-all early in the second half before consecutive baskets from Soriano, a 3-point play from Storr and three buckets by Jones put the Red Storm in front by six.
BIG PICTURE
Providence: Coming off a trip to the Sweet 16 in last year's NCAA Tournament, the Friars are 13-0 on their own court but 5-7 away from home. They have dropped four of their last five road games.
"I feel awful that we lost the game because we had so many supporters here," Cooley said.
St. John’s: It was probably the second-best win of a disappointing season for the Red Storm, behind an 11-point victory on Jan. 15 at then-No. 6 UConn. They need at least one more to ensure Mike Anderson won't finish with a losing record for the first time in 21 seasons as a head coach, including stints at UAB, Missouri and Arkansas. Three ranked opponents and two other road games remain.
BENCHED
Red Storm junior guard Andre Curbelo was on the bench but not in uniform. Before the game, St. John’s said Curbelo would not play and that it was a coach’s decision. Curbelo, an Illinois transfer, is averaging 9.6 points and a team-best 4.5 assists per game. He was ejected from a Feb. 1 loss to Seton Hall for throwing his goggles to the floor in anger and then shot a combined 8-for-24 off the bench in the next two games.
UP NEXT
Providence: Will host No. 23 Creighton on Tuesday night in a pivotal Big East matchup. Senior point guard Jared Bynum was out injured when the Friars lost, 73-67, at Creighton on Jan. 14, ending their nine-game winning streak. Hopkins had 20 points and 10 rebounds in that one.
St. John's: Plays at DePaul (9-16, 3-11) on Tuesday night. The Red Storm won the first meeting this season, 86-67, at Carnesecca Arena on campus. The skidding Blue Demons have dropped six straight.
PROVIDENCE (68): Croswell 4-9 1-2 9, Hopkins 10-20 6-7 29, Bynum 2-12 3-4 9, Carter 5-10 1-2 12, Locke 2-9 0-0 5, Floyd 0-3 2-2 2, Breed 0-3 0-0 0, Moore 1-5 0-0 2, Castro 0-1 0-0 0, Pierre 0-0 0-0 0; totals 24-72 13-17 68. ST. JOHN'S (73): Stanley 1-1 0-0 2, Soriano 4-8 2-2 10, Addae-Wusu 4-9 4-4 13, Alexander 3-8 4-6 10, Storr 6-11 2-2 15, Jones 6-17 3-4 16, King 2-3 0-0 5, Pinzon 0-3 0-0 0, Nyiwe 0-0 0-0 0, Traore 1-1 0-0 2; totals 27-61 15-18 73.
Halftime — St. John's 37-35. 3-pt. goals — Providence 7-23 (Hopkins 3-3, Bynum 2-7, Carter 1-3, Locke 1-8, Floyd 0-1, Moore 0-1), St. John's 4-18 (King 1-2, Addae-Wusu 1-4, Jones 1-5, Storr 1-5, Alexander 0-1, Pinzon 0-1). Rebounds — Providence 42 (Hopkins 9), St. John's 35 (Soriano 13). Assists — Providence 16 (Bynum 10), St. John's 19 (Alexander 9). Total fouls — Providence 17, St. John's 16. Records — Providence 18-7, St. John's 15-11. A — 10,210 (19,812).
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Misfiring Friars can't catch Red Storm in Big East battle
