Published: December 21, 2006
QUEENS, N.Y.
Avery Patterson scored 23 points, and the Red Storm defense put
the clamps on visiting NJIT, as St. John’s won its fifth straight
game, 68-50, at Carnesecca Arena on Thursday night. Patterson
scored 11 straight points as part of a decisive first-half run by
St. John’s and finished with his team-leading fourth 20-plus point
output of the year. Anthony Mason Jr. scored in double figures for
the eighth straight game, and Lamont Hamilton added 10 points and
four rebounds.
With the win, the Red Storm improved to 7-3 overall and 6-1 at
Carnesecca Arena, while the Highlanders fell to 2-9 overall and 1-4
on the road.
Patterson knocked down 9-of-16 shots and 5-of-12 3-point field
goals and led the team in scoring for the fifth time this season.
Mason drilled three 3-pointers and Hamilton added 10 second-half
points, but the Red Storm bench played a combined 76 minutes and
scored 18 of the team’s 68 points. Freshman Larry Wright led the
reserves with nine points on 2-of-4 shooting and added two 3’s and
one rebound in 17 minutes, while fellow rookie Qa’rraan Calhoun
grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Forward Kraig Peters led the Highlanders with 14 points and
three steals, and guard Clayton Barker scored 12 points, grabbed
four rebounds and recorded four steals before fouling out late.
NJIT scored the game’s first five points and raced out to an
11-3 lead in the first seven minutes. Some hot shooting by Mason
Jr. and Patterson and pressure defense by the Red Storm helped
close the gap and give St. John’s a 24-20 lead at the break. Mason
knocked down three 3’s to account for St. John’s first nine points
of the contest, and Patterson scored the team’s last 11 to put the
finishing touches on a 15-0 run.
The Red Storm defense held the Highlanders scoreless for over
seven minutes while the team overcame a seven-point deficit (16-9).
For the period, NJIT shot just 29.2 percent from the floor, while
the Red Storm knocked down 42.9 percent of its shots, including a
6-of-14 mark from long range. Patterson led all scorers with his 11
points, and Calhoun grabbed four rebounds in the opening frame.
St. John’s hot shooting continued at the start of the second
period, as four different players scored baskets in the paint to
open the period. The Red Storm lead grew to as many as 12 in the
first five minutes, but the Highlanders cut the deficit to five on
a putback by Nesho Milosevic at the 13:41 mark. Wright knocked down
two quick 3’s to push the lead back into double figures, and the
Red Storm defense would maintain the cushion for the remainder of
the contest.
The Red Storm is back in action on Saturday, welcoming local
rival Columbia to Carnesecca Arena for a 7:30 p.m. contest.