Red Storm Rolls Past Adelphi

QUEENS, N.Y.- – The St. John’s men’s basketball team opened exhibition play on Wednesday night, soaring past Adelphi, 85-55, inside Carnesecca Arena.

Six St. John’s players finished in double figures. Freshman guard AJ Storr led the way with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including a 2-for-3 showing from beyond the arc.

A trio of St. John’s scorers tallied 12 points apiece. Joel Soriano and O’Mar Stanley both shot 6-of-7 from the floor while Andre Curbelo posted his dozen points on an efficient 6-of-9 effort.

David Jones and Montez Mathis logged 10 points apiece. Jones added a team-high eight rebounds in just 17 minutes of action.

Despite logging just 10 minutes, freshman Mohamed Keita also grabbed eight boards. The 7-foot-1 center from Conakry, Guinea, also blocked three shots for the Red Storm.

Posh Alexander dished out a game-high 10 assists in 25 minutes of playing time. Dylan Addae-Wusu finished with seven points, four boards and three helpers.

As a team, St. John’s shot 51.4 percent from the floor and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three-point range. The Johnnies assisted on 23 of their 37 made baskets and committed just nine turnovers.

The Panthers hung close for a majority of the first half, scoring six straight to tie the contest at 19 with just under six minutes remaining. From there, St. John’s rattled 17 unanswered over the next four and a half minutes to blow the game open. Soriano scored 10 of those 17 points for the Red Storm.

Leading by 15 at the break, St. John’s began the second stanza with a 15-2 run to break open the game. The Red Storm climbed ahead by as many as 36 in the second half.

St. John’s will play its second and final exhibition contest of the preseason on Saturday night against Southern New Hampshire University at Carnesecca Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.