The Johnnies proved their strength by doing all the right things in what would have been a bad loss to start their stretch of mediocre opponents ahead of Big East conference play.
In expected fashion, St. John’s cruised to a 91-45 victory over Holy Cross (2-5) at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday night, giving an encouraging sign for their four remaining very winnable games against West Virginia, Sacred Heart, Boston College and Fordham.
After a start that saw five lead changes, St. John’s found their shots in the paint and connected with one another as a unit in their sixth game under head coach Rick Pitino, improving to 4-2.
They limited turnovers, capitalizing on those they fought for, and the Johnnies’ fast-break pace only left the Crusaders chasing.
The Johnnies put away the game on a 20-3 run over 6:05 in the first half to help earn a 16-point lead at the half, limiting Holy Cross to just 17 points in the second half.
Joel Soriano controlled the paint to lead the Johnnies with 16 points, followed by Chris Ledlum with 10. The two heavily contributed to the St. John’s 58 points in the paint to the Crusaders’ 18.
Jordan Dingle also hit double-digits with 11 points.
The game also saw a debut for RJ Luis, who had not played this season with a broken left hand, and he tallied 14 points along with four rebounds.
The sophomore guard from UMass fractured his hand in an open practice Oct. 1 and was cleared for contact a week ago.
Other bench players saw time in the majority of the second half — including Sean Conway, Zuby Ejiofor, Nahiem Alleyne, Brady Dunlap, Simeon Wilcher, Cruz Davis and Drissa Traore.
It was another display of their connected offense.
The Johnnies shot an impressive 51 percent from the field, going 39-for-77, and earned 26 points in transition.
They also successfully limited turnovers (eight), which has been a bad habit for St. John’s to start the season.
Before Saturday, they were averaging 15.2, which is tied for 313th in the country.
St. John’s showed persistence after trailing to Holy Cross’ strong 3-point shooting early.
They eventually regained the lead 13-8 after keeping their strengths where they lie, in the paint.
Steals fueled baskets, including a stolen ball by Ledlum for a layup following a dunk by Soriano in the previous possession, electrifying the crowd.
The fresh legs of Wilcher also found Ejiofor for an alley-oop late in the first half.
For the remainder of the game, the Johnnies ran away with it, limiting the Crusaders to 36 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep, and left them in a 3:41 scoring drought in the final moments.
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