Miami (Fla.) played host to the St. John’s men’s basketball team Sunday, Dec. 2, at the Bank United Center, and defeated the Red Storm (4-1, 0-0 Big East) 66-47.
The Hurricanes (7-0, 0-0 ACC) were led by senior center Anthony King and junior guard Lance Hurdle who each contributed 13 points. King connected on 5-of-12 shooting and had eight rebounds, while Hurdle had five boards and four assists. Although Hurdle only went on 3-of-5 shooting, he came through for Miami from the free throw line hitting 6-of-7 baskets.
St. John’s freshmen forwards Justin Burrell and D.J. Kennedy, despite it being their first collegiate road game, led the team with 10 points a piece. Both Red Storm players came close to having a double-double grabbing eight and six rebounds, respectively.
Johnnies’ Eugene Lawrence finished with eight points and kept the ball in motion, dishing out six assists, grabbing six boards and notching three steals.
Miami had its first lead of the game at the 16:34 mark of the first half after sophomore guard James Dews buried a three off a feed from junior guard/forward Brian Asbury to make the score 7-6. From that point, the Johnnies struggled to get a footing in the game to regain a lead. St. John’s battled to create an answer to Miami’s fluidity on the hardwood.
The Hurricanes were up by 10 points with 5:23 left in the period, 29-19. The Johnnies went on a 10-0 run slowly chipping away at the deficit to finally tie the score at the close of the half. Burrell ended the run with a jumper, to make the score 29-all.
The Hurricanes swept the ‘Storm in the second half, double-teaming Burrell on defense and using the overall home court advantage as ammunition against St. John’s. By the 9:07 mark, Miami was up by 10 and never allowed the Johnnies to hit a single-digit deficit again. Miami was up by as much as 20 points with 31 seconds on the clock, 65-45. St. John’s was able to score one more deuce and Miami hit a free throw before the game ended.
The loss gives St. John’s its first of the season. The Johnnies return home to play their next game on the schedule against Niagara at Carnesecca Arena on Dec. 15.
