The St. John’s men’s basketball team couldn’t sustain a series of runs as they fell to then No. 12 Louisville 72-58 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY.
The Red Storm (15-10, 7-6) started the second half by going on a 10-0 run, but the Cardinals (21-5, 9-4) quickly rebounded with a 8-0 run thanks to two three-pointers from junior guard Russ Smith. The Johnnies never regained the lead.
“Russ Smith did a good job of taking over the game,” assistant coach Rico Hines who was coaching in place of head coach Steve Lavin, told reporters. “That was it.”
Lavin missed his second straight game while he spent time in San Francisco following the passing of his father on Feb. 10.
Sophomore D’Angelo Harrison scored his 1,000 point during the contest, becoming the 48th player overall and the fastest in team history to reach the mark. He will be honored in a brief ceremony before tip-off at tonight’s game against South Florida.
Sophomore Phil Greene led the team with 21 points, while Harrison added 18. Chris Obekpa had 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Smith led the Cardinals with a game-high 24 points while making 12 of 14 free throws. Senior Peyton Siva added 12 points, while junior Gorgui Dieng added 17 rebounds.
