College Basketball

Jordan returns as St. John’s tops Longwood

St. John’s won two games over the last five days, important for the developing team if — and only if — the Red Storm learned lessons from the hardly impressive victories and got the lackadaisical, sloppy play that typified the two contests out of their system.

Five days after needing a rally to knock off underwhelming Monmouth, St. John’s let unheralded Longwood hang around for 30 minutes before pulling away for a 65-47 victory as part of the Barclays Center Classic in front of 3,531 at Carnesecca Arena on Tuesday night.

“We found a way to get a ‘W,’ but it’s not even close to the way we’re supposed to play,” junior guard D’Angelo Harrison said. “Our situation is in our hands, and we’re going to be able to do things better, and play defense better, and play offense better, so it’s all things we control.”

St. John’s (4-1) will face Penn State on Friday with the winner moving on to Saturday’s final against either Mississippi or Georgia Tech.

The most noteworthy news to come out of the team’s fourth straight victory was the return of freshman point guard Rysheed Jordan after a one-game suspension for violating undisclosed team rules.

Jordan, the highest-ranked recruit in the Steve Lavin era, enjoyed some nice moments in 17 minutes of action, scoring a career-high eight points, adding four assists and two steals.

“I think he handled the suspension in a mature fashion and came back to work with the right attitude,” Lavin said. “I’m pleased he took a step in the right direction tonight.”

Lavin used four reserves — God’sgift Achiuwa, Sir’Dominic Pointer, Max Hooper and Jamal Branch — before inserting Jordan with 10:53 remaining. Jordan missed his first three shot attempts, two from long range, and misfired on three free throws before getting going late in the first half. He scored inside, sank a baseline jumper and set up Harrison in transition for a basket.

“I don’t think anybody’s really seen what he’s capable of,” Harrison said. “We see it in practice, but he’s still trying to adjust.”

St. John’s built a 40-27 lead after Jordan set up Achiuwa for a dunk and Pointer threw down his own slam with 11:42 left. Longwood (2-4) — a Virginia school from the Big South Conference which received an undisclosed sum to make the trip to Queens — got within seven on a few occasions, but never got closer.

Despite shooting an unsightly 6-of-19, and 3-of-11 from beyond the arc, Harrison led St. John’s with 18 points, Pointer added 11 and Chris Obekpa had six points, eight rebounds and six of the Red Storm’s 15 blocked shots, tying a school record. St. John’s held Longwood to 33 percent shooting and 47 points, the low mark of the season for a Johnnies opponent.

Lavin was pleased with his team’s work on the defensive end, which he felt was vastly improved from the victory over Monmouth. The offense is still a work in progress, the coach said, after the Johnnies shot 3-of-19 from downtown, made only 18-of-30 free throws and shot 37 percent overall.

“We just have to do a multitude of things,” he said.

Lavin reiterated his preseason prediction St. John’s won’t jell until late January or early February. He is encouraged by the team’s 4-1 record, considering it has so much room for improvement and growth.

“We’re not where we want to be — I wish we were 5-0, wish we got the Wisconsin game — but at the same time, I really like this team,” he said. “I like the pieces, I like the flexibility we have to play different ways. I like their attitude and approach each day in practice. It’s a good group to be around.”