After 12 games and nearly two months, St. John’s has provided no clarity.
Stacked with incredible individual talent and saddled with the accompanying expectations, the Red Storm finished their non-conference slate on Saturday afternoon, mixing in spurts of their ceiling with the lack of urgency and chemistry that have kept them from playing to their potential for much of this season.
Still, St. John’s survived another scare, squeaking by Columbia to win their third straight game, 65-59, in the first game of the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival at Barclays Center.
St. John’s (9-3) will be accountable for any inconsistencies — the one consistent aspect of their season thus far — when Big East play begins at Xavier on Tuesday.
“Are we pleased with where we are, are we satisfied, are we complacent? No,” St. John’s coach Steve Lavin said. “We have a long way to go in a number of areas, [but] I thought today was a step in the right direction.
“I just see a team that’s growing, that’s maturing. It’s got areas it needs to improve upon, but also has some real strengths. Like I’ve said all along, by February, this is a team that can be a handful for opponents. We’re not there yet, but we didn’t expect to be there by now. We’re a work in progress.”
Led by D’Angelo Harrison’s 15 points, St. John’s (9-3) took its biggest lead, 48-34, with 14:10 remaining in the game, but the Lions responded with a 13-0 run, slowing the Red Storm with a zone defense.
Grant Mullins, who scored a game-high 17 points, brought the Lions back, before Alex Rosenberg’s 3-point play put Columbia in front, 51-50, with 7:25 remaining.
The lead was short-lived, as Orlando Sanchez (12 points, nine rebounds) scored on the next possession, sparking a noticeable shift in the Storm’s defensive intensity and a 9-0 run which kept them in front until the end.
“It goes along with having a sense of urgency, we have to have that each and every possession, not just when we’re up one, up 12 or even up 25,” Harrison said. “We always have to play the same. Those are things we can work on. It’s always good to have things we can control.”
St. John’s led nearly the entire game, getting six first-half points from Rysheed Jordan, who returned after missing the previous game to tend to his ill mother.
The Lions (7-6) shot 38 percent from the field, but did not relent, showing the grit that nearly helped them pull a mammoth upset at Michigan State early in the season.
After Columbia trailed by eight in the first half, Mullins tied the game at 28 with eight straight points, but St. John’s went on a 9-2 run to take a 37-30 lead at halftime.
The dominance wasn’t there, but it didn’t have to be. The résumé remained intact. The NCAA Tournament is as viable as ever and the Big East awaits.
“There’s a number of areas that we have to improve upon, but the good news is that most of the teams in the country feel the same way,” Lavin said. “I love our team because of the depth. I like the pieces to our group. I like our personnel, I like our makeup. I really like this team.”