It again took St. John’s a half to wiggle free from an inferior opponent, but when the Red Storm did, the results were decisive.
Freshman A.J. Storr scored 16 points off the bench and St. John’s rode a dominant second half to a comfortable 91-74 victory over Central Connecticut State at Carnesecca Arena on Tuesday night.
The Red Storm (3-0) switch to a zone defense and outscored the Blue Devils 58-31 after the break. In their previous game, against Lafayette, they turned a two-point halftime lead into an 83-68 win.
“Coach [Mike Anderson] said to get stops on defense,” guard Posh Alexander said of the halftime message. “We trust our coach and we went to zone and it worked out.”
Storr shot 6-for-10 from the field, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range. David Jones scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half and had nine rebounds and four assists. Alexander had 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. Montez Mathis added 13 points for the Red Storm, who forced 12 turnovers and dominated on the offensive glass. They used an 11-0 run, capped by a Jones jumper to grab a 58-45 advantage with 12:08 left in the game and never looked back.
“In the last game [versus Lafayette] you could see a glimpse,” Anderson said of Storr, “Tonight, he got the minutes, and he was productive with those minutes. I think it was about confidence, being more aggressive and assertive, not just on offense, but on defense as well.”
Nigel Scantlebury led Central Connecticut State (0-3) with 16 points and Kellan Amos added 14 points.
The Red Storm did a much better job defending the 3-point line, holding the Blue Devils to 10-for-27 shooting from behind the arc after allowing Lafayette to make 14 3-pointers in their previous contest.
“In the second half, I thought we did a good job of changing the rhythm of the game,” Anderson said. “That’s why we’re always going to be a team that plays with multiple defenses. When [the zone] works, it keeps people in place and makes them shoot jump shots.”
St. John’s returns to action versus Nebraska on Thursday at Carnesecca Arena for the Gavitt Games.