Shamorie Ponds had 26 points and four steals and LJ Figueroa added 17 points as St. John's remained undefeated with an 89-74 win over feisty Princeton on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Marvin Clark II finished with 13 points for the Red Storm and Mustafa Heron added 12 as St. John's (9-0) shot 55 percent from the game and continued its best start since 1991.
Devin Cannady had 18 points, including 15 in the first half, to lead the Tigers (4-4), who were hindered by 20 turnovers.
Freshman guard Jaelin Llewellyn had 17 points in his season debut and Richmond Aririguzoh added 14 for Princeton. Jose Morales added 13 points for the Tigers, who shot 44.4 percent from the field.
St. John's broke the game open with an 18-6 run midway through the second half before Princeton roared back with a 15-3 run late in the half. The Red Storm ultimately outlasted the Tigers with a late 9-0 run.
Princeton dominated St. John's from deep the first half but struggled with turnovers, committing 13 in the half despite coming in averaging 10 for the game. The Tigers would go on to commit 20 turnovers in the game, including five by Cannady.
Cannady did hit 5-of-7 from deep in the first half as the Tigers kept it close with their outside shooting. Princeton was a surprising 4 for 12 from two-point range and 9-for-17 from deep in the first half, and St John's went scoreless for nearly four minutes late in the half before a three-point play by Figueroa with 45.4 seconds left in the half to put the Storm up three.
St. John's survived Cannady's onslaught by shooting 58 percent from the field in the first half, with Clark (nine points), Figueroa (nine) and Ponds (eight) combining to shoot 10-for-15 in the half.
--Field Level Media
Princeton | St. John's | |
Devin Cannady 18 | Scoring | Shamorie Ponds 26 |
Jose Morales 5 | Assists | Shamorie Ponds 5 |
Richmond Aririguzoh 6 | Rebounds | Marvin Clark II 8 |
Richmond Aririguzoh 4 | Free Throws Made | Marvin Clark II 4 |
Jose Morales 4 | Steals | Shamorie Ponds 4 |
Richmond Aririguzoh 1 | Blocks | Marvin Clark II 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Princeton | 74 | 44.4 | 13-31 | 5-6 | 15 | 28 | 2 | 8 | 20 |
St. John's | 89 | 55.7 | 7-18 | 14-21 | 14 | 33 | 3 | 16 | 14 |