CINCINNATI — St. John’s coach Steve Lavin’s young Red Storm didn’t finish in their last game, a 98-86 loss at Villanova. It’s a skill they need to learn, starting Saturday against Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena (4 p.m., ESPNU).
The Red Storm (8-5, 0-1 Big East) come off consecutive losses. They forced overtime in Wednesday’s league opener but shot 1-of-7 with three turnovers in the extra session. Saturday’s game against No. 14 Cincinnati (13-1, 1-0) — who blew them out 76-54 in the Garden on Feb. 8 — will be much tougher.
“I’m disappointed we weren’t able to finish at the end of the first half, end of second half or overtime because that’s a recipe or formula for defeat,” Lavin said. “We’ve got to reverse that trend if we’re going to have any success this year. If you don’t finish well in those stretches, you’re not going to be successful at this level.”
The Johnnies squandered a career-high 36 points from D’Angelo Harrison Wednesday as their younger players wilted under the spotlight of their Big East debut.
In just his second game with St. John’s, Jamal Branch got a surprise start and had a dozen points, but also four turnovers and a costly technical foul. Freshman JaKarr Sampson, the Red Storm’s second-leading scorer at 13.7 points per game, fouled out in overtime and scored two points.
“JaKarr had an off night. I know he’s going to have a breakout game against Cincinnati,” Harrison said. “Once you’ve got all 10 of us playing well, we’re going to be a heck of a team.”
“You could tell he was uncomfortable about his play. JaKarr is a great player. He’s a pro. He’s going to figure it out and not let something like this happen again, so I don’t even have to worry about it.’’
Lavin didn’t commit to going with Branch as his starting point guard moving forward, or the three-guard lineup that was outrebounded 47-34 Wednesday. But the Red Storm have practiced with Branch at the point and Harrison and Phil Greene IV on the wings, and it showed promise.
“I think similar to what UConn does. They run three guards,’’ Harrison said. “[We could go] with Jamal pushing it, because now Jamal is showing he can score. He’s still learning. But once he becomes a threat like me and Phil, it’s going to be hard to stop us, because any of us can get 30 on any given night, with JaKarr too. We’ve just got to get that defensive rebounding and we’ll be straight.’’