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St. John’s win at Xavier on Wednesday might not have been an anomaly after what the Red Storm did Friday night.
Playing with the same purpose, focus and intensity as in the upset of Xavier, St. John’s dominated Butler over the final 30 minutes Friday and cruised to a 91-57 decimation at Carnesecca Arena to move within one game of .500 in Big East play. It was the Red Storm’s largest win in the conference since they beat Providence by 34 points on Feb. 15, 1999.
The one-sided win completed the Red Storm’s first season sweep of Butler since 2013-14, the first year the Bulldogs were in the Big East. St. John’s has now won four of six games, with the lone losses coming to Villanova and Connecticut in games point guard Posh Alexander missed due to a sprained right ankle.
Alexander, the Red Storm’s heart and soul, was a factor against Xavier coming off the bench. He started Friday, and was at his best, controlling the game at both ends of the floor. Julian Champagnie had his second straight strong outing, pouring in 32 points along with seven rebounds and seven steals as twin brother Justin, a rookie with the Raptors, watched. Aaron Wheeler was aga in a consistent threat, scoring 16.
All 10 regulars scored in an absolute beatdown in which the Red Storm outrebounded the Bulldogs, 35-21, outscored them in the paint by 12 and shot 50 percent from 3-point range.
The game was so lopsided that coach Mike Anderson put in his walk-ons in the final minute.
To get into the NCAA Tournament mix, St. John’s still has a long way to go. Blowout wins like this will help its metrics. More importantly, it could give them the belief a big run is possible to close the regular season, especially with a manageable schedule.
Alexander was the best player on the floor in the first half, notching nine points, seven assists and three rebounds. He returned to the game with St. John’s trailing by three points midway through the first half and turned the momentum, igniting a 12-3 run that gave the Red Storm the lead for good.
He closed the half with a 3-pointer off the glass at the buzzer that made it a 16-point game — St. John’s largest lead at the half in conference play all year. When Alexander was on the floor in the opening half, St. John’s outscored Butler by 18 points.
Once St. John’s cut down on its turnovers — it had six over the first 10 minutes — the Red Storm began to run away from Butler. They shot a blistering 64 percent from the field, went 6-for-11 from 3-point range and owned the paint. Each of the starting five had at least two made field goals as the ball moved crisply.
Freshman guard Rafael Pinzon didn’t play, but he was available after being cleared medically, according to St. John’s. Pinzon had been sidelined since testing positive for COVID-19 in December.
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