NEW YORK – St. John’s split their two games the past week. A common thread of the two games was the importance of rebounding. The battle under the glass, especially on the offensive end, played a part in both outcomes, though more so in the meeting with UCLA.
On Tuesday, St. John’s was trampled 94-64 by Seton Hall at the Prudential Center. It was, simply, a “Valentine’s Day massacre”. On Saturday they showed resilience bouncing back for a strong 66-63 victory over UCLA at Madison Square Garden.
A tempo-free rundown of Saturday’s game follows:
| Possessions | Efficiency | |
| UCLA | 65 | 97 |
| St. John’s | 65 | 107 |
The key in the matchup with UCLA, as noted, was rebounding. Seton Hall pounded St. John’s on the boards with a 41-30 percent advantage in offensive rebounding percentage on Tuesday. UCLA posed a threat with size and the possibility of wearing down a thin – in strength and numbers – St. John’s front court. The final totals saw St. John’s and the Bruins even with a 43 percent OREB percentage. In raw numbers the Red Storm showed a 19-15 edge off the offensive glass. The second-chance points saw the favor in St. John’s side of the ledger 26-15. That was a big factor in securing this intersectional win.
D’Angelo Harrison led the way with a game-high 22 points. St. John’s also received solid outings from Moe Harkless (10 points, 12 boards) sand Sir Dominic Pointer (13 points, 7 rebounds). Tyler Lamb (3 of 6 from three) paced UCLA with 18 points.
“We did not feel good as a team following the Seton Hall game,” St. John’s assistant Mike Dunlap said. “Today we did something about that.”
On Tuesday Seton Hall was an offensive juggernaut. The Hall had an incredible 76 percent eFG percentage. They shot better from beyond the arc than two-point range.
| Possessions | Efficiency | |
| St. John’s | 71 | 90 |
| Seton Hall | 70 | 134 |
The Seton Hall shooting percentages and distribution:
| 3 PT Shooting | 2 Pt shooting | |
| Seton Hall | 15-24 62.5% | 18-29 62.1% |
The Hall had six players can treys. Jordan Theodore led the way with a game-high 16 points, hitting 4 of 6 from downtown and handing out ten assists. “The big difference from last year’s Seton Hall team is this one has more than one or two players who can hit threes,” Dunlap said. “When they are hitting they are very dangerous.”
A bright spot for St. John’s was five players in double figures led by Moe Harkless with 15 points (along with 11 rebounds). A 17 percent turnover rate was another positive. Other than that, it was a long night at the Rock.
St. John’s record is now 11-16 (4-10 Big east). The win over UCLA, they hope, will give some momentum closing out the Big East and entering the post season get together at Madison Square Garden.
