QUEENS, N.Y. (Oct. 29, 2023) – The St. John’s men’s basketball team fell in its final exhibition game of the preseason to Pace, 63-59, on Sunday at Carnesecca Arena.

Red Storm graduate student Nahiem Alleyne led the team with 22 points, shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line to go with four 3-pointers. Freshman Brady Dunlap also finished in double figures for St. John’s, scoring 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers.

St. John’s played all nine of its available players on Sunday. Five Johnnies were sidelined due to injury, including Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team selection Joel Soriano.

Graduate student Bryan Powell led Pace with 22 points, shooting 9-for-17 from the floor and he grabbed 10 rebounds. The Setters’ redshirt junior forward Jamaal Waters also recorded a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 10 boards. Chaz Harvey chipped in 11 points coming off the bench.

Pace took advantage of a slow start by the Johnnies, who opened the game shooting 1-for-13 from the field. The Setters managed to build a 10-point cushion by the 13:10 mark after going on a stretch where they hit 6-of-7 field goal attempts.

Alleyne answered for the Red Storm by scoring all 12 of his first half points over the next nine minutes to bring St. John’s within one, 33-32, with 2:01 to go in the half.

The Setters managed to carry 39-34 advantage into the break after shooting 47.2 percent (17-36 FG) from the field in the first half.

Early in the second half, Pace went on an 11-0 run, which included three-straight 3-pointers, to rebuild a double-digit cushion just over five minutes into the stanza. From there, both teams went on a scoring drought and held each other without a field goal for over eight minutes.

With 3:26 remaining, the Johnnies began a late push and finished the game on a 13-4 run. Alleyne nailed his fourth 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to bring St. John’s within four, 63-59, but that is as close as it would get. After a missed front end of a one-and-one by Pace, the Red Storm regained possession with 15 seconds on the clock, however Simeon Wilcher’s 3-point attempt was off the mark as the Setters held on.

St. John’s will open the 2023-24 season on Tuesday, Nov. 7, when Stony Brook makes its way to Carnesecca Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.