This was maybe St. John’s best all-around performance this season in their victory over Marquette on Wednesday.
The St. John’s men’s basketball squad gave a glimpse of how good they can actually be this past Wednesday.On that day, they defeated Marquette at Madison Square Garden, 80-72, in their most balanced effort of the season.
It was a game the Red Storm led midway in the first half and never looked back the rest of the way.
Along the way, many guys contributed. The top performer was Bashir Ahmed. The Bronx native poured in a career-high 23 points, doing it from the outside and inside as well, just as he’s done all season long.
Starting guards Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett were their usual solid selves, chipping in with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
However, the most impressive contributor was definitely Kassoum Yakwe. The sophomore, who is only averaging 3.7 points per game coming in, had 14 points and provided the Johnnies with an interior presence.
As a result, St. John’s had a total of 42 points in the paint, shot over 48% from the field and 41% (10-24) from three-point land.
It wasn’t just the offense. The defense came through in a big way as well. The forced 17 turnovers. Marquette came in, averaging only 12 turnovers per game. St. John’s continued to show they’re a great shot blocking team with seven more blocks, anchored by Tariq Owens and also Yakwe.
Finally St. John’s, who’ve struggled in the rebounding department all year, even outrebounded Marquette 40-39, completing a stellar all-around performance.
Keep in mind, this came against a Marquette team that just beat No. 4 ranked defending champion Villanova eight days prior. St. John’s will play Villanova next on Saturday night.
It was, by far, the most complete game St. John’s has played all season on both ends of the floor and if you’re a St. John’s fan, you definitely gotta feel proud about their performance over a respectable opponent.
A similar performance against Villanova in their next game would certainly help.
