Nov. 13, 2009 QUEENS, N.Y.--D.J. Kennedy hit a career-best four 3-pointers and Justin Brownlee shined in his Red Storm debut, as the St. John's men's basketball team took a 83-70 victory over the LIU Blackbirds in Friday night's season opener at Carnesecca Arena. "We made some plays when we needed too," St. John's head coach Norm Roberts said. "D.J. shot the ball very well in the first half and Paris made some big shots early. We want to keep our defensive pressure up." Kennedy led the way with 16 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists. The junior forward was one of five St. John's players to score in double figures. Dwight Hardy scored 14 points and Brownlee, Justin Burrell and Paris Horne added 12 apiece. The Red Storm last had five players in double-digit scoring against Seton Hall on Feb. 5, 2009. After building a 50-36 lead at the half, St. John's came out of the break strong with a 13-8 run. The Blackbirds battled back, climbing to within 75-68 with 1:11 remaining, but the Red Storm remained focused down the final stretch, holding LIU to just two more points. Hardy and Malik Boothe combined to go 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and Horne closed out all scoring with an authoritative fast-break dunk with 32 seconds remaining.
St. John's played with confidence from beyond the arc, as the team connected on 10 of 28 shots from long range. STJ out-shot LIU from the floor, 49.2 percent to 38.3 percent. The Red Storm started the game strong, leading the Blackbirds for all but 11 seconds of the first half. STJ led by as much as 16 in the first half, while Kennedy paced the team with 11 points. St. John's shot 58.8 percent from the field with efficient work in the paint (16 points) and from beyond the arc, shooting 8-of-15 from 3-point range. The St. John's newcomers wasted little time making an impact for the Red Storm. Brownlee, a junior transfer from Chipola Junior College (Fla.), was a huge spark off the bench, scoring his points in the paint off of put-backs and on fast-break hustle plays. He scored six points in his first seven minutes of play and finished the game with seven rebounds (three coming on the offensive end), two steals and one assist. Hardy had a well-rounded game coming off the bench at guard. The junior transfer out of Indian Hills C.C. (Iowa) was 4-of-10 from the field and 2-of-6 from 3-point range. He also had four assists, four rebounds and one steal in 25 minutes of action. Freshman Omari Lawrence added key minutes off the bench, contributing seven points in his college debut. Horne scored the Red Storm's first points of the season, hitting a 3-pointer 12 seconds into the game to give STJ a 3-0 lead. The junior guard scored eight of his 12 points in the first half. He also had five rebounds, one assist and one steal. Burrell hauled in a team-best eight rebounds and the junior forward scored eight of his 12 points in the second half. Junior post Dele Coker served as a defensive force off the bench with a game-high four blocks that tied his career best. Boothe, who finished with two points, notched a game-high seven assists. Jaytornah Wisseh led LIU with a game-high 28 points to go with four rebounds and four assists. With the win, the Red Storm extended its series lead over the Blackbirds to 9-3. St. John's hits the road for its next non-conference contest, taking on St. Bonaventure on Nov. 17 in Rochester, N.Y. The Red Storm leads the series 11-5. |
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