The St. John’s Red Storm men’s basketball team suffers another disturbing loss, this time to Penn State.
After a bad one point loss to Long Island University at the Barclays Center a week ago, the St. John’s men’s basketball squad suffers another disappointing loss on Sunday.This time it was to Penn State, 92-76, at Madison Square Garden.
St. John’s got off to a good start, leading 24-17 to start the game, but Penn State went on a 35-5 run after that.
By the end of the game, it became a blowout and more questions remained for the Johnnies.
St. John’s continues to be inconsistent on the offensive end. There were times when their offense was unstoppable, like at the start of the game, but too often there have been sloppy moments too, such as what happened afterward.
St. John’s still hasn’t proven it has a solid inside game. Opponents are starting to know that, so Penn State went to a zone defense. They double teamed the St. John’s guards from the perimeter, forcing them to play a low post game, which they have little to offer.
Defense continues to be inconsistent as well and their struggles showed again on Sunday. Although St. John’s used the press to good effect at times, once Penn State adjusted, the Red Storm struggled to defend, especially in the paint.
There were, however, a couple of bright moment for St. John’s. Malik Ellison and Tariq Owens both had good games.
Ellison, the son of former NBA player Pervis Ellison, had his best game as a collegiate, scoring a team high 22 points and was five of six from three-point land.
Owens had eleven points and eleven rebounds, helping out on the boards.
Also, Marcus LoVett was back in action after missing a few games with an ankle injury. Although he struggled, it was definitely great news for St. John’s that he is back on the floor and it wouldn’t take long before he contributes again.
St. John’s next game is against their old longtime Big East rival Syracuse. St. John’s won the last two meeting against the Orangemen in the last two seasons.
