By Connor Wilson
It hasn’t been a dream season in Queens for St. John’s in 2022-23. After starting the season with a 10-1 non-conference record, the Red Storm started Big East play losing 10 of 14 and found themselves with a 14-11 record entering Saturday’s game against No. 20 Providence.
Despite their struggles as of late, the Red Storm managed to pull away with a 73-68 victory over the Friars at Madison Square Garden in front of a great crowd in New York City. The win marked the first time St. John's beat Providence at The Garden since 2015.
“Balanced scoring against a really good Providence team,” St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson said. “Good job by our guys starting off and our guys coming off the bench gave us some big, big minutes.”
Providence guard Devin Carter attempts a layup against St. John's
The Red Storm were in control from the opening tip, building an early 16 point advantage in the first half at 25-9. After building such a large lead, the Friars began to chip away and by halftime cut the deficit to just two points.
As Anderson said, it was a complete team effort for St. John’s on Saturday, as five Red Storm players finished in double figures with David “Deivi” Jones leading the way with 16 points.
The win over Providence meant a little more to Jones than it did his teammates, as it was his first game since his father passed away in the Dominican Republic.
“Not everyone knows this, but my dad was the one that taught me how to play basketball,” an emotional Jones said. “My teammates were talking with me and told me I have to do it for my dad and my family said I have to keep going and make him proud.”
Coming off the bench, Jones shot 6-for-17 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds in 26 minutes. He returned to the United States earlier this week after attending his father’s funeral in the DR, where Jones was born and raised. Jones honored his late father by getting a new tattoo this week on his arm to commemorate him.
St. John's forward David Jones attacks the rim against Providence
"I just really wanted to let him know that everybody on this team has his back," St. John's guard Posh Alexander. "I told him lets do this for your dad."
As for the rest of the Red Storm, freshman AJ Storr had another solid game scoring 15 points. Dylan Addae-Wusu scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. Alexander had 10 points and nine assists, close to making it two St. John’s players with double-doubles as Joel Soriano had his 20th of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Anderson kept it simple when discussing the performance of his players: "They deserved it."
St. John's center Joel Soriano going for a rebound
Despite it being a two point game at the break, the Friars never took the lead in the second half. Bryce Hopkins showed out on the big stage, scoring 29 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Hopkins is one of the front runners for Big East Player of the Year and proved why against St. John’s.
“I think he is a top 1, 2 or 3 player in our league, if not the country,” Providence head coach Ed Cooley said about Hopkins. “Hopefully he can keep his mindset right as we work to bounce back against Creighton.”
Hopkins may have had a stellar game, but after that nobody really shined for Providence. Devin Carter was the only other Friar in double figures scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Jared Bynum had 9 points and 10 assists, but shot 2-for-12 from the field. Noah Locke went for 20 points in the Friars win over the Red Storm in early January, but was held to five points on 2-for-9 shooting in round two.
"We dialed in on Noah Locke who hurt us last game with 20+," Anderson said. "We didn't do as well on Hopkins."
In the arena there were plenty of Friars fans all throughout. The game at times felt like it was being played at a neutral site, but a late run and a highlight dunk by Soriano propelled the Red Storm fans above the opponents.
St. John's center Joel Soriano throws down a two handed slam
There was a very special guest in attendance, as legendary former Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewksi was at his first Division I basketball game since he retired after Duke’s Final Four run last April. Krzyzewski was not there for attention, as the jumbotron showed him for a brief moment and the PA announcer didn’t acknowledge him. He was met with a mix of cheers and boos, but mostly boos.
St. John’s was without one of its key players in this one, as point guard Andre Curbelo was out in what Anderson called “a coach’s decision.” Curbelo has had multiple ejections this season, including last home game against Seton Hall where he was tossed for throwing his mouth guard.
"It's just a coaches decision," Anderson confirmed. When asked if this decision is permanent or just , he said "We'll cross that bridge when we get to the next game."
In Curbelo’s absence, freshman Kolby King played a career high 17 minutes and matched his career high five points.
Despite the loss for the Friars at The Garden, they will have an opportunity to make up for it in less than four weeks at the Big East Tournament and Cooley and his crew are very excited.
“To have an opportunity to play in the Big East Tournament, there’s no greater tournament in the world that has the energy, enthusiasm, fan support and history,” Cooley said.
Up next for both teams: Providence hosts Creighton at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Valentine’s Day for the Friars’ annual “Pink Out” game. St. John’s hits the road out to Chicago also on February 14 as the Red Storm are set to take on DePaul in David Jones’ first time at Wintrust Arena since he transferred out of the Blue Demons' program last year.