ELMONT, NY — Pain.
When someone asks about what St. John’s Men’s Basketball fans endured on Sunday night, as the Red Storm went up against the Seton Hall Pirates at UBS Arena, you’ll hear, read, and essentially, think of one word. Pain.
Why’s that? In the first 20-minutes of game-action, Rick Pitino’s St. John’s looked like, and was, the all-around superior team on Shaheen Holloway’s Seton Hall. At one-moment in the opening frame, the Red Storm had a commanding 19-point lead.
Though the Pirates were able to cut into that deficit, the Johnnies left the court with a 41-29 halftime lead — shooting nearly 43% from the field, as well as from behind-the-arc. The trio of Joel Soriano, Jordan Dingle, and Daniss Jenkins, combined for 28 of those first-half points, while having all the momentum flowing in the Red Storm’s direction in front of a rowdy crowd of 9,584.
So, what could go wrong? Long and behold came the second half…
Over 9,000 in attendance at UBS Arena for Seton Hall vs. St. John’s on Sunday night, February 18th – Image Credit: Latino Sports
Once Seton Hall arrived back onto the hardwood, the Pirates completely flipped the switch, and steered the momentum — you could say ‘the ship,’ back in their favor — going on a 18-4 scoring run, which lasted for more than 11 minutes. Again, allowing just four points on the defensive end of the floor in a span of over 11 minutes. Not something you see everyday…
“The message was just, we gotta go out there and take it,” coach Holloway said when asked about his halftime message to the team. “I got mad at my team because they were worried about fouls. They kept crying to the referees. Stop whining, just play basketball and find a way.”
Inside The Second Half
Seton Hall: 10-26 FG (38.5%), 2-8 3-PT (25%), 17-26 FT (65.4%) – 39 points
St. John’s: 8-33 FG (24.2%), 3-18 3-PT (16.7%), 2-4 FT (50%) – 21 points
(The Pirates out-rebounded the Red Storm in the second half 25-21, and for the game: 44-42)
E with the hustle play, The Chef with the finish 🤌#HALLin 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/EqRD0hMBet
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) February 18, 2024
For Johnnies fans, that is painful. And the end all, be all, when it was all said and done for Sunday evening’s contest. Seton Hall displayed their force to win by a final of 68-62, to move to 17-9 overall, 10-5 in BIG EAST, while St. John’s dropped to 14-12 overall, 6-9 in BIG EAST.
“Look I’m disappointed,” said Pitino following the loss. “I don’t want to say the wrong things, but I’m really disappointed in my team. And I give credit to them (Seton Hall) by the way, because they were the epitome of toughness in the second half. They said ‘we’re not going to lose this game, we’re going to get tougher.’”
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino in postgame press conference on Sunday night, February 18th, at UBS Arena – Image Credit: Latino Sports
Regarding the second half struggles for the Red Storm, Pitino stated: “we took bad shots that led to our demise. In the first nine minutes, I think we scored four points because we took bad shots, didn’t reverse the basketball, didn’t make the defense move. In the first half, we made the defense move. So it led to our demise… tonight was just a lack of toughness.”
Top Performers on Each Side
In a winning effort, senior guard Kadary Richmond, of Brooklyn, NY, posted a double-double of 18 points, and 11 rebounds — his fifth this season and eighth in his collegiate career. Richmond’s Pirate guard senior teammate, Al Amir-Dawes, a native of Newark, New Jersey, recorded a game-high of 19 points, to go along with three boards.
BIG TIME 🔥🔥🔥#HALLin 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/TI2Ev3Yrlh
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) February 19, 2024
On the flip side, Jenkins finished with a Red Storm team-high of 17 points — the 22nd game of the season in double scoring figures for the graduate guard, and 73rd on his career.
What’s Next for the Pirates and Red Storm?
Seton Hall (17-9 overall, 10-5 in BIG EAST)
The Pirates will host the Butler Bulldogs (16-10 overall, 7-8 in BIG EAST) at the Prudential Center, located in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night, February 24th – tip-off set for 8:30 pm ET, television coverage on FOX Sports 2.
St. John’s (14-12 overall, 6-9 in BIG EAST)
The Red Storm visits the nation’s capital of Washington D.C. this coming Tuesday night, February 18th, for a matchup with the Georgetown Hoyas (8-17 overall, 1-13 in BIG EAST) — tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm ET, television coverage on FOX Sports 1.
Robert Rizzo is a journalist and editor of Latino Sports – Email: RobertRiz994@gmail.com
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Julio
February 20, 2024 at 8:06 am
Good precise article. Made me feel like if I was at the game.