Box Score
QUEENS, N.Y. -- D'Angelo Harrison scored a game-high 18 points, including 13 in the second half, to lead St. John's University of the BIG EAST Conference to a 65-47 men's basketball victory past Longwood University on Tuesday night at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, New York. Sir'Dominic Pointer added 11 points for the Red Storm (4-1), who led just 27-23 at halftime and were only ahead 44-37 with 8:47 remaining, before closing the game with a 21-10 run. Redshirt-junior captain Jeylani Dublin/Brooklyn, New York led the Lancers (2-4) with 16 points off the bench, while sophomore captain Lucas Woodhouse/Greenlawn, New York and classmate Karl Ziegler/Annandale each contributed 10 points in the second game of the Barclays Center Classic presented by Continental Tire. Longwood will continue its competition in the four-game exempt tournament with a game against North Carolina A&T of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference on Friday afternoon, November 29 at 4:30 p.m. at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
"I thought our kids really competed," said first-year Longwood head coach Jayson Gee. "We're trying to compete and find a way to win. We try to put together a game plan that prepares us for winning and I felt that our guys bought into it. What I was really impressed with was that our guys didn't feel sorry for themselves. We played without our leading scorer, who leads us in a lot of categories, and they came out and fought.
"I was impressed with St. John's. Obviously, their size and athleticism were very impressive. Their blocked shots, I thought, impacted the game and I have to give them credit."
Longwood, playing without its leading scorer, senior captain Tristan Carey/Colonial Beach, scored the first seven points of the game to lead 7-0 at 16:29. Ziegler sandwiched a pair of jumpers around a three-point field goal by Woodhouse. St. John's responded with a 9-2 run to tie it at 9-9 with 11:22 left in the first half, getting points from four different players, including a three-point play by Jamal Branch. Ziegler and Dublin answered back for the Lancers to give the visitors a 13-9 lead at 7:34, and another three-pointer by Woodhouse made it 16-15 at 5:31, while a layup from Ziegler gave Longwood its last lead at 21-20 with 2:06 on the first-half clock. The Red Storm closed the period with a 6-2 run to lead 27-23 at the intermission.
St. John's extended its lead to 30-23 to start the second half with 3-4 free throws by Phil Greene IV, but a jumper by Woodhouse and a steal and layup from sophomore transfer Leron Fisher/Baltimore, Maryland had Longwood within 30-27 at 16:22. The Red Storm responded with a quick 10-0 run to lead 40-27 at 11:42, getting a three-pointer from Harrison to start it, before back-to-back dunks by God'sgift Achiuwa and Pointer, respectively, to end it. The Lancers made another push with six consecutive points from Dublin to pull to within 40-33 at 9:50, and a jumper from Woodhouse followed by a layup from freshman Damarion Geter/Dayton, Ohio made the score 44-37 with 8:47 remaining. St. John's, however, scored six quick points to lead 50-37 at 6:11, while closing the contest on the 21-10 run. Harrison sparked the decisive ending with eight of his 13 second-half points, including an old-fashioned three-point play and another three-pointer.
Dublin led Longwood with his team-high 16 points off the bench, tying his season high for the second-straight game, while making 7-12 field goals and 2-3 free throws, and tying a career-high with four blocks. Woodhouse and Ziegler each finished with 10 points for the Lancers, as the veteran trio combined to score 36 of the 47 points. Carey missed the contest with a foot sprain suffered late in the Penn State game on Nov. 24. Longwood shot 34% (19-56) from the field, including 25% (2-8) on three-pointers and 78% (7-9) at the free throw line.
Harrison led St. John's with his game-high 18 points, making 6-19 field goals, including 3-11 three-pointers and 3-6 free throws. Pointer had 11 points for the Red Storm, while JaKarr Sampson contributed a game-high 11 rebounds and Chris Obekpa had a game-high six blocks. SJU shot 37% (22-59) from the field, including 16% (3-19) on three-pointers and 60% (18-30) at the line. The hosts finished with 15 blocked shots in the contest.
Longwood and St. John's were meeting for the first time in the sport, while it was the ninth game against a BIG EAST opponent (0-9). Most recently, the Lancers played both Georgetown University (L 89-53, ranked No. 23 at the time) and Seton Hall University (L 79-61) last December.
