Red Storm Falls to Creighton
OMAHA, Neb. (Jan. 25, 2023) – Despite a career-high 23 points from freshman AJ Storr, the St. John’s men’s basketball team fell at Creighton, 104-76, on Wednesday.
Storr hit 9-of-16 shot attempts, including three 3-pointers, to lead four Johnnies in double-figures. Joel Soriano finished with 18 points, marking the 12th-consecutive contest the senior center scored double digits. The Yonkers native also grabbed a team-high nine boards.
David Jones added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting while junior guard Dylan Addae-Wusu scored in double figures for the third-straight game with 10 points.
Creighton (12-8, 6-3 BIG EAST) was led by Baylor Scheierman who registered a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Kalkbrenner and Ryan Nembhard each added 16 points for the Bluejays on a combined 14-for-18 shooting. As a team, Creighton converted 56.7 percent of its field goal attempts and buried 11 3-pointers.
Storr sparked the Red Storm’s offense early and matched his previous career-high by scoring 16 points in the first half. The Johnnies’ guard went 6-of-10 from the floor in the opening frame with three of the team’s four made 3-pointers through 20 minutes.
Shortly after St. John’s (13-8, 3-7 BIG EAST) took a 15-12 lead five minutes into the contest, Creighton answered with an 11-2 run to reclaim an advantage it would not relinquish. The Bluejays took a 52-39 lead into the break behind Kalkbrenner’s 14 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting.
Nembhard scored 10 of Creighton’s first 14 points of the second half to help the Bluejays maintain a double-digit advantage they held the rest of the way. St. John’s would not get closer than 11 in the final stanza.
The Red Storm shot 46.3 percent (31-67 FG) from the field and 46.2 percent (6-13 3FG) from distance on the night.
Creighton dished out 22 assists on 38 made field goals, while the Bluejays’ bench outscored St. John’s, 29-9.
The Red Storm returns to action in New York City for back-to-back home games, beginning with a showdown against Georgetown on Sunday inside Madison Square Garden. FS1 will carry the national broadcast at 2 p.m. from “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”