St. John’s answered several lingering questions in its season-opening 77-58 win Friday night over NJIT.
The Red Storm are committed to playing stout defense and possess ample depth to run for 40 minutes.
The Johnnies won the battle of the boards and overcame foul trouble that slowed their top two returning scorers with an inspired effort from the bench to kick off the school’s 107th season on a positive note.
“There are a number of areas we need to continue to work on improving and elevating, but overall I was pleased with the defense,” St. John’s coach Steve Lavin said. “At one point I looked up and [NJIT] had eight points with five minutes [in the first half]. That was a positive.”
After shrugging off a 1-for-5 shooting start, the Red Storm jumped out to an 18-6 lead on a series of highlight-reel dunks from Chris Obekpa and Rysheed Jordan. The lead never again dipped below double figures.
Obekpa showed no ill effects from an ankle injury suffered in practice last week. The 6-foot-9 forward commanded the paint for the Johnnies, finishing with a career-high 13 points to go along with 13 rebounds and four blocks. The junior logged 35 minutes and will be counted for inside scoring following the loss of incoming frontcourt players Keith Thomas, who was ruled academically ineligible, and Adonis De La Rosa, whose status is in limbo amid academic questions.
“I’m trying to pick up my whole game, pick up everything,’’ Obekpa said when asked if he was focused on improving his offense.
St. John’s carried a comfortable lead into the second half, extending the advantage to 49-27 at the 13:46 mark before senior guard D’Angelo Harrison picked up his fourth foul. The Highlanders, held to 22 percent shooting to that point, strung together several baskets to pull within 12 at 55-43 at the 9:36 mark.
But led by the scoring and defense of Jordan, the sophomore point guard with all the hype, the Red Storm were able to keep their composure and pull away for the win. Jordan overcame early foul trouble to finish with a team-high 18 points and five assists. More impressive to Lavin was he committed just one turnover.
“It’s a step in the right direction,’’ said Lavin of Jordan’s bounce-back from an eight-turnover exhibition performance. “He can help contribute in a number of ways.”
St. John’s reserves are also proving they can chip in when needed. With Jordan and backcourt mate Harrison on the sidelines for the final 9:36 of the first half with two fouls each, a squad led by senior Jamal Branch extended the lead from 12 to 18 points.
Branch, who finished with 11 points and three assists, wasn’t surprised by the poise of the second squad.
“That’s my job, to settle the team down out there and get everyone good shots,” Branch said.
Eleven players saw action against the Highlanders, giving Lavin a chance to test out different combinations and assess the potential of 6-foot-9 freshman forward Amar Alibegovic as an inside contributor.
“If there was a positive to the early foul trouble, it was the opportunity for the reserves to show me they deserve more playing time,’’ said Lavin, stressing he needs to find additional depth beyond his experienced top six.
That top six includes four players capable of running the offense: Jordan, Branch, Phil Greene IV and Sir’Dominic Pointer. The swarm of guards pressed full court at times in a 2-2-1 set that Lavin expects to deploy in tandem with a 2-3 zone when the team gets into foul trouble.
Despite what Lavin termed a “disjointed game” because of the foul trouble, the Red Storm got off plenty of easy shots in the paint to offset a 2-16 effort from 3-point range. Pointer was a key to the inside game, finishing with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds while playing a team-high 36 minutes.