GAMEDAY Mens Basketball

Saint John's 73, Providence 68

(AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK - A grieving David Jones scored 16 points, AJ Storr added 15 and St. John's beat No. 20 Providence 73-68, handing the Friars a costly defeat in their pursuit of a second consecutive regular-season conference title.

Joel Soriano had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Storm (15-11, 5-10 Big East), who had lost three straight and five of six. It was his 20th double-double this season - he entered the game second in the nation in that category.

Posh Alexander added 10 points and a season-high nine assists, and Dylan Addae-Wusu scored 13 for St. John's, which built a big early lead at Madison Square Garden and led nearly the entire way.

Bryce Hopkins equaled a career best with 29 points for the Friars (18-7, 10-4), who had won four of five. The only loss during that stretch was in overtime at then-No. 16 Xavier.

Hopkins also grabbed nine rebounds, but Providence shot just 33% from the field. Devin Carter had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Friars, who are in a crowded race with three other teams atop the Big East standings.

Jones came off the bench after missing two games to go back home to the Dominican Republic following his father's death. The junior forward entered averaging 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

St. John's jumped out to a 25-9 lead after 9 1/2 minutes behind Alexander and Jones, but the Friars closed the first half with a strong push and trailed 37-35 at the break.

They tied it 39-all early in the second half before consecutive baskets from Soriano, a 3-point play from Storr and three buckets by Jones put the Red Storm in front by six.

BIG PICTURE

Providence: Coming off a trip to the Sweet 16 in last year's NCAA Tournament, the Friars are 13-0 on their own court but 5-7 away from home. They have dropped four of their past five road games.

St. John's: It was probably the second-best win of a disappointing season for the Red Storm, behind an 11-point victory on Jan. 15 at then-No. 6 UConn. They need at least one more to ensure Mike Anderson won't finish with a losing record for the first time in 21 seasons as a head coach, including stints at UAB, Missouri and Arkansas. Three ranked opponents and two other road games remain.

BENCHED

Red Storm junior guard Andre Curbelo was on the bench but not in uniform. Before the game, St. John's said Curbelo would not play and that it was a coach's decision. Curbelo, an Illinois transfer, is averaging 9.6 points and a team-best 4.5 assists per game. He was ejected from a Feb. 1 loss to Seton Hall for throwing his goggles to the floor in anger and then shot a combined 8 for 24 off the bench in the next two games.

February 11, 2023