Who's Incarnate Word?

Many will not know that former San Antonio Spurs big man David Robinson received his master's degree there a few years ago but, after Friday, the little-known Division-I team will now be known as the squad that defeated St. John's this season.

The Cardinals (4-5, 0-0 Southland), who have been playing at the D-I level for only three seasons, took down the Red Storm (7-4, 0-0 BIG EAST), 73-51, snapping the Johnnies' three-game winning streak at Carnesecca Arena (Queens, N.Y.).

Despite the youth on the Storm, in every way, the victory for Incarnate Word was an upset for the Johnnies. The loss came as a surprise for those following St. John's -- a team that just came off of an impassioned 84-72 win over Syracuse on Sunday. However, the 'L' handed out by the Cardinals slapped many back into the reality of how much of a "work in progress" the Johnnies still are to date.

"I can't really get into [the players'] minds," St. John's head coach Chris Mullin told RedStormSports.com. "After the [Syracuse] game we went back to practice as usual and emphasized our fundamentals. We kept everything the same and didn't make a real big deal about [beating Syracuse]."

Incarnate Word made it a very uncomfortable and ugly game for St. John's, as the New York team had a difficult time establishing a rhythm throughout the matchup. Although the Johnnies had an advantage on the interior, the Cardinals played smart and efficient at all points on the floor, rendering any efforts by the Red Storm moot.

Incarnate Word was led by junior forward Derail Green, who averaged 8.6 points a game prior to the matchup with the Storm. The 6-foot-7 Green proved to be a major asset for the Cardinals, posting a game-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting overall, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Teammate sophomore guard Jontrell Walker also put in work on the hardwood, recording 20 points on 5-of-11 from the field and four assists.

Collectively, the Cardinals shot from beyond the arc like marksmen, on target with 45.8 percent (11-of-24) of their attempts. Overall, Incarnate Word shot at a 42.1 percent (24-of-57) clip from the field.

St. John's graduate student swingman Durand Johnson had a team-high 15 points on 5-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-6 from long range. He also added six rebounds. Teammate freshman center Yankuba Sima recorded 11 points, nine points of which came in the first half. Sima added five boards and four blocks to his stat line.

During the offensive lulls, it was clear that St. John's did not have an anchor player to steady the vessel, allowing the boat to rock with every ripple the Cardinals sent through the water. Strangely, the two most offensively productive players against Syracuse on Sunday -- sophomore forward Amar Alibegovic and freshman guard Federico Mussini -- were relatively quiet on the floor and combined for only 13 points. Alibegovic, who logged just six points, was hampered by foul trouble, while Mussini (seven points) did not try to find his shot as he confidently did at Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.) last weekend.

St. John's finished the game shooting 41.3 percent (19-of-46) from the field, which includes 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from 3-point range. Though these stats seem great on paper, how it translated on the floor did nothing for the double-digit hole the Johnnies fell into and stayed in for most of the game.

"It wasn't overconfidence," said Johnson. "We went out and played a team that wanted it more than us. They beat us at every asset of the game."

Incarnate Word led by as much as 22 points, 69-47, at the 1:42 mark of the second half after two free throws by Walker capped an 11-0 run that took place over the course of four minutes of game time. Incarnate Word's senior guard Mitchell Badillo made his presence felt by scoring seven of his nine points within three minutes, which also helped his team spark that unanswered surge.

The Cardinals ran the floor, controlling the tempo and capitalizing on St. John's missed shots and turnovers. The Texas squad even knew how to stay patient during tough defensive half-court sets, waiting out the Johnnies for open driving or passing lanes and oftentimes making buckets happen just before a shot-clock violation was called.

"I give all the credit to Incarnate Word for dictating tempo," said Mullin. "They shot the three ball great. They got 11 more shots than us so let's give them credit."

The Red Storm showed a little life just before the midway mark of the second half, when the Johnnies cut an 11-point deficit down to seven, 42-35, following the completion of a conventional three-point play by freshman forward Kassoum Yakwe (five points, three rebounds and two blocks) and a free throw by Alibegovic. Unfortunately for St. John's, that spark was immediately extinguished before it could ignite into a surge for the Johnnies when Green followed up by cutting the net with a 3-point dagger at the 12:14 mark of the stanza.

Although Alibegovic answered with a three of his own, another trey by Green seconds later started a small yet impactful 8-0 run for the Cardinals to catapult them ahead by 15 points, 53-38, with 10:08 left in the game.

St. John's trailed Incarnate Word, 35-26, at halftime.

Fifteen of Green's points came in the first half, where he aided his Cardinals in knocking down 50 percent (7-of-14) of their 3-pointers.

The pendulum did not swing too far in either direction as each team held brief leads early in the matchup. The Red Storm held a very early advantage in the game, but the Cardinals followed closely on the Storm's heels striking quickly and often. The last time the Johnnies led in the contest was when Sima netted a bucket off an assist from teammate Johnson to take a three-point lead, 19-16, at the 7:41 mark of the first half.

"This definitely makes us want to refocus," said Johnson. "This is college basketball; you play against great athletes every night. We need to lock in starting tomorrow in practice."

"Of course it's a disappointing loss, especially coming off a big win over Syracuse last week," added Sima. "But the game is over and now we have another game on Sunday. We need to remain focused and come in here 100 percent ready to win."