No. 23/23 Butler Defeats St. John’s at Hinkle Fieldhouse

INDIANAPOLIS (Jan. 16, 2016) – The St. John’s men’s basketball team fell 78-58 to No. 23/23 Butler (13-4, 2-3) on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Kellen Dunham poured in a game-high 24 points for the Bulldogs. The Red Storm was led by freshman guard Federico Mussini (Reggio Emilia, Italy), who finished with 14 points in his 14th double-digit scoring effort of the season.

Felix Balamou (Conakry, Guinea) added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Durand Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) contributed 12 points off the bench for St. John’s (7-12, 0-6). Freshman Kassoum Yakwe (Bamako, Mali) blocked four shots to increase his BIG EAST leading swat total in conference games to 17. The 6-foot-7 forward also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Butler shot 48.1 percent from the field and sank 19-of-24 free-throw attempts. Kelan Martin scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half. Andrew Chrabascz was the third Bulldog to record double-figures, finishing with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.

The Red Storm took advantage of Butler’s 11 first half turnovers and trailed by no more than six for the first 17 minutes. Balamou converted a layup to get within four with 2:56 on the clock before the Bulldogs unleashed a 10-0 run to close the half. Martin scored the last five points, including a 3 that sent Butler ahead 39-25 at the break. Consecutive 3-pointers by Mussini and Ron Mvouika (Paris, France) early in the second half cut the deficit to 11, but the Red Storm could not get closer.

Dunham found his stroke from downtown in the stanza, knocking down all three attempts and he finished 10-for-11 at the free-throw line. Mvouika recorded five points, six rebounds and two assists. Christian Jones (Arlington, Texas) added five points coming off the Red Storm bench. St. John’s returns to action next Saturday, hosting Marquette at Madison Square Garden. Game time is set for 8 p.m.