CHARLESTON — If St. John’s is going to make it to the NCAA Tournament — and this team certainly has the talent to do so — it needs to make one dramatic improvement.
The Johnnies have to learn to do what Garden fans have chanted about for decades: Defense! Defense!
St. John’s, showing a tremendous offensive style, lost 97-78 to Baylor in the consolation game of the Charleston Classic because the Red Storm couldn’t get a stop when they needed it. In fact, the Johnnies rarely got a stop against the nation’s No. 16-ranked team.
When the Bears weren’t going inside to 7-1 center Isaiah Austin or 6-9 power forward Cory Jefferson, they were finding sharpshooter Brady Heslip on the perimeter for 3’s. Heslip, who entered the game having hit just 5-of-22 3’s, scorched the Johnnies on 8-of-12 shooting from behind the arc and finished with a game-high 29 points.
The Johnnies got a career-high 24 points from guard Phil Greene IV who will make a serious run at most improved player in the Big East this season. Greene also had seven assists and five rebounds.
D’Angelo Harrison showed once again that there is no 3 beyond his range. He had 20 on 6-of-9 shooting from behind the arc.
JaKarr Sampson added a career-high 18 in his best performance in a St. John’s jersey.
With the game tied 66-66, the Johnnies got outscored 14-4 and fell behind 80-72 with 5:27 remaining. Heslip got the run going with a 3. Austin had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Jefferson added 17 and 11. Baylor finished the game on a 31-12 run.
St. John’s got out rebounded 33-17. It certainly was a game in which the Johnnies could have used center Orlando Sanchez who still has not been cleared by the NCAA.
St. John’s allowed Baylor to shoot almost 54 percent from the field and 61 percent on 3’s.
By losing 2-of-3 here, the Johnnies slipped to 2-2 on the season. Baylor improved to 4-1.
Despite being battered and abused on the boards in the first half, the Johnnies picked up where they left off. Austin, a sure first-round pick whenever he comes out (read: after this season), threw down a dunk and then got fouled on an offensive rebound.
He converted both free throws as Baylor pushed a 45-42 halftime lead to 47-42. Down 55-48, the Johnnies popped a 7-0 spurt that started with a Greene IV jumper and ended with the sophomore from Chicago draining a 3 from the corner.
That was the pattern in the first 25 minutes. Baylor went to the glass or kicked it out to sharpshooter Heslip. St John’s, using its quickness and athleticism, drove and kicked for open jumpers.
Lavin clearly wanted to send a message on Saturday’s day off when he said the Johnnies defensive performance in Friday’s loss to Murray State was the worst he had ever seen from one of his team. The Johnnies must have had their Dr. Dre headphones.
They gave up 45 points to Baylor in the first half. The undersized Johnnies gave up 11 offensive rebounds which led to 16 second-chance points. They were out rebounded 23-9 and were in the game at the half only because Baylor was an even worse defensive squad considering their height.
Harrison, who did not start because he was late for the team bus, came off the bench en fuego. He hit a 3 from the top of the key, a 3 from the left wing and a 3 from the corner. Harrison was a big reason the Johnnies bench outscored Baylor’s 20-4.
NOTES: With Harrison on the bench for being late to the team bus, Marc-Antoine Bourgault made his first start. He missed his only shot in the first half, a 3 from the corner.