The No. 5 ranked St. John’s Men’s Basketball team returned to the court in their first of two exhibition matches before Nov. 3’s regular season opener. The Johnnies’ first opponent was the Towson Tigers, who were routed in this 73-63 back-and-forth matchup.
Reigning National Coach of the Year Rick Pitino opted for a small-ball starting lineup that saw three new 6-foot-5 playmaking guards, Joson Sanon, Ian Jackson and Oziyah Sellers start next the front-court duo of Dillon Mitchell and Zuby Ejiofor.
Pitino flaunted four newly acquired transfers in this starting lineup, but throughout the game he possessed a quick trigger for substitutions. Quick calls to the bench allowed Pitino to mix and match certain lineups to see what worked best for the new-look Johnnies ahead of the regular season.
A tumultuous opening possession began the Johnnies pre-season, as a miscommunication on offense between Sellers and Jackson led to Sellers passing the ball to an unknowing Jackson’s back just seconds into the game. After an inbound play, Jackson then airballed the first shot attempt of the game.
But the New York native made up for his miss with a crafty drive and dunk only a few possessions later, marking his first points back in the Big Apple and giving his new team an early lead.
Despite the statement slam by Jackson, defense dominated the early stages of the contest. St. John’s shot an abysmal 5-17 from the field as a team in the first 10 minutes, holding a narrow 11-8 lead over the Tigers.
The Johnnies’ lead dwindled as the offensive struggles continued throughout the entire first half, culminating to a 29-21 Towson advantage at halftime.
Offensive struggles are to be expected for a team with 11 new faces but shooting 33% from the field and 12% from three-point range could raise some question marks for this team’s on-court chemistry.
Coveted offseason acquisitions Bryce Hopkins (13 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts.) and Joson Sanon (9 pts, 3-7 FG) were the only saving graces for the Red Storm offense, the duo were responsible for 13 of the team’s 21 points in the first half.
“We were tight tonight, playing in front of the home crowd,” Coach Pitino said in regards to the team’s slow offensive start. “Guys were nervous, no matter how experienced a team you are, the first exhibition game everyone is nervous.”
A mix of nerves and offseason rust explain the lackluster first half performance, but the new-look Johnnies finally arrived in the second half.
A completely different team exited the St. John’s locker room as a 23-12 scoring run for the home team gave life to a dormant crowd in Carnesecca Arena.
Sadiku Ibine-Ayo’s six straight points put an emphasis on this scoring tear, resulting in a 44-41 newfound lead with ten minutes remaining.
Maintained consistency, and a bit of luck, found the Johnnies in this matchup as this scoring outburst continued until the final buzzer. The lead increased to as much as 17 before Towson stopped the bleeding.
A particularly dramatic moment capped off this second-half surge when Towson’s starting center Caleb Embeya elbowed Joson Sanon, Embeya was gifted his second technical foul of the contest resulting in an immediate ejection.
Towson mustered up a late rally in the closing minutes, coming within six points of the Johnnies’ 67-61 lead. But St. John’s held on in spite of this scare, winning their first exhibition by a score of 73-63.
“I couldn’t ask for a better opener, against a tough, hard-nosed, slow basketball team,” Pitino said after the win. “It was a great first game for us because we learned so much.”
Those new lessons his team learned will immediately be put to the test in St. John’s Oct. 25 exhibition matchup against the No. 7 ranked Michigan Wolverines under the lights of Madison Square Garden.
For play-by-play analysis, follow @TorchSports on X.
