First-night foibles were rampant in St. John’s season-opening game with Long Island at Carnesecca Arena last night.
The Red Storm committed careless turnovers and enough defensive lapses to allow the Blackbirds’ Jaytornah Wisseh to lead all scorers with 28 points. However, St. John’s balanced attack, featuring five double-digit scorers, was enough to give the Red Storm the only thing that mattered, an 83-70 win.
“We just didn’t have good ball and body movement. We got kind of stagnant, [but] it’s the first game,” St. John’s coach Norm Roberts said. “We got great guys, but I gotta believe they were nervous. I can’t believe how many rebounds we had in our hands and the ball slipped out and bounced off somebody’s head and they picked it up and scored. It was crazy.”
“Our defense wasn’t as good as we’re capable of playing,” forward D.J. Kennedy said. “There’s great players everywhere. I understand it’s a smaller school, but give [Wisseh] a lot of credit.”
The Red Storm relied on an early mix of streaky shooting and up-tempo pressure, not allowing LIU to get into a rhythm. But when that failed in the second half, the Blackbirds slowed the pace and cut a 19-point deficit to seven in the final minutes.
Kennedy (16 points), Paris Horne (12 points) and Justin Burrell (12 points) took control when the team sputtered, finding a way to create points.
“We worked all summer and offseason just working on shooting,” Kennedy said. “A lot of teams have played zone on us and forced us to shoot.”
Reserves Dwight Hardy and Justin Brownlee made a good first impression. The two junior college transfers showed promise in their first Division I games.
Brownlee was the first off the bench. He ran onto the floor and never stopped. The 6-foot-7 forward attacked the rim and the boards with fury and chased after loose balls like they were hundred-dollar bills. Hardy willingly deferred to teammates, but showed his scoring prowess with 3-point range and soft, leaning jumpers.
“Brownlee is a very good player. He was one of the best juco players in the country,” Roberts said. “Hardy was one of the best juco players in the country. So those guys are used to making plays.”
Brownlee finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Hardy chipped in with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Malik Boothe led the team with seven assists.
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Backup point guard Malik Stith missed last night’s game with a sprained ankle. His status for Tuesday’s game at St. Bonaventure is unknown.