No. 13 St. John’s returned to Queens to face the William & Mary Tribe hoping to correct course one week after a loss to Alabama. The 103-96 loss to a top-25 opponent gave Coach Rick Pitino and his Red Storm much to learn and change before facing the Tribe.

Pitino opted for a drastic difference in the starting-five which saw both Ruben Prey and Dylan Darling, his first game back after suffering a calf injury, earn their first starts of the young season.

This new and much larger lineup was chosen to attack William & Mary’s lack of size; the two centers Prey and Zuby Ejiofor allowed the Johnnies to dominate the paint, out-scoring the Tribe 24-12 within the key in the first half.

The Tribe’s style of play was the exact opposite of the Red Storm’s in the opening half, their offense rarely ever drifted inside the three-point arc as 15 of their first 17 points came from three-point shooting in the first ten minutes.

Both teams turned away from their gameplans and the Tribe dragged St. John’s into a slugfest that William & Mary benefited from. They eventually evened up the scoring at 28-28 before the Johnnies secured a narrow 39-34 advantage at the end of the first half.

If this commentary seems mundane, stagnant and without vision, that is exactly how St. John’s played in the first half. Despite a clear size advantage against an inferior team, the offense elected to not play through Ejiofor or Bryce Hopkins, who only combined for 13 points entering halftime. 

If Pitino and his squad were to prevent a disastrous outcome, the offense and defense would need to completely change their play in the second half. 

And out of the locker room, a new and energized Johnnies stormed the court. Headlined by Darling’s ability to turn defense into offense and Oziyah Sellers’ knockdown shooting, an immediate 34-8 scoring run over the first 10 minutes allowed St. John’s to avoid a potentially catastrophic upset.

“Certainly, Dylan was magnificent tonight at breaking any pressure,” Pitino said regarding Darling’s performance at the helm of the offense. “[He] did great things and made us such a better basketball team.”

Thanks to the leadership of Darling, the Red Storm played lightning quick in transition (scoring 16 points off of turnovers during this run) and were patient in the half-court. Showing how dynamic this talented offense can be if they play to their full potential.

While the offense was succeeding at all levels, no one player stood out but instead the offense worked as a team. Five players tallied over 10 points and none scored over 15, an impressive balance that proves a score-by-committee approach may be best for this team.

At the 10 minute mark, St. John’s led comfortably 71-40, a far cry from the two-possession lead they held in the first 20 minutes of play.

The Tribe had no chance for a comeback and the Red Storm treated the closing minutes of this contest as an effortless shoot-around, maintaining the 30+ lead for the rest of the game. At a final score of 93-60, the Johnnies’ staggering 33 point win silenced all doubts that a lackluster first half may have created.

After being on the winning side of this tale of two halves, St. John’s improved to 2-1 on a young season. Their next chance for a victory will once again be in Carnesecca Arena, but against Bucknell University on Nov. 20.

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