The hype is still on hold, but the panic can be pushed aside.
Following Saturday’s near-debacle against Division II San Francisco State, St. John’s did what it was supposed to do in Monday night’s exhibition game, crushing Division II Humboldt State, 106-39, at Carnesecca Arena.
The Red Storm face an indescribably tougher task in their next game — opening the regular season Friday night against 20th-ranked Wisconsin, in Sioux Falls, S.D. — but they’ll enter their most difficult challenge of the season’s first month with the confidence from a wire-to-wire beatdown, so sorely needed after Saturday’s two-point win.
“That’s part of the fun and part of the concern, there’s so many unknowns with this team,” said coach Steve Lavin. “This is just a total mystery. There’s just so many factors that we’re trying to bring together and that’s why I think it’ll be probably mid-January, February, before we really find our stride. But I think we can surprise people along the way. I think we might be better than some people think.”
St. John’s never trailed, making the matchup look exactly like it appeared on paper, as God’sgift Achiuwa led the team with 24 points and eight rebounds, while Sir’Dominic Pointer added 14 points, 10 rebounds, nine blocks, five assists and three steals in a team-high 29 minutes.
With center Chris Obekpa absent — sitting out the second of his two-game preseason suspension — Achiuwa overpowered the undersized Lumberjacks in the paint, as did Orlando Sanchez, who had six points and 10 rebounds — all in the first half.
Humboldt State opened the game shooting 1-of-12 from the field, allowing the Red Storm to open up a 19-4 lead, which ballooned to 47-15 at the half. St. John’s started the second half with an 18-2 run and, soon after, the starters were pulled.
“I hope we did figure it out that we got to come out and play hard against whoever, whether it’s Wisconsin or whether it’s San Francisco State,” said Pointer. “I think last game we thought we were going to come in and blow them out. This game we were more focused. We weren’t worried about Wisconsin. We didn’t even talk about Wisconsin until after the game.”
There were few holes to poke in the 67-point win, but incredibly few moments when the superior Storm athletes were ever truly challenged.
D’Angelo Harrison, coming off a 29-point performance, was most impressive early, finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds, while making an effort to get others involved. Highly touted freshman Rysheed Jordan was fairly quiet, putting up four points and five rebounds in only 15 minutes.
The team’s Achilles’ heel from last season — its 27.1 percent 3-point shooting — showed some improvement, as the team hit 11-of-28 from beyond the arc. Sharpshooting newcomer Max Hooper hit 4-of-8 3-pointers and finished with 12 points after a scoreless debut.