St. John’s Hoops Buzzes Past Sacred Heart, 104-82

By Jerry Del Priore 

It doesn’t look like much can stop St. John’s University Men’s Basketball team these days, as five players registered double digits in points in its 104-82 rout of Scared Heart University (4-8) Saturday at Carnesecca  Arena. 

Red-shirted forward Marvin Clark Jr. and junior guard Mustapha Heron posted game-highs with 23 points each.

Sophomore guard/forward LJ Figueroa dropped 15 points on seven-of-12 shooting to go along with five assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals.

Brooklyn native and junior point guard Shamorie Ponds, who played high school hoops at Thomas Jefferson, drained 13 points, had nine assists, five rebounds, two steals and committed just one turnover. 

Red-shirted junior guard Justin Simon tallied 10 points on five-of-nine from the field.

The Red Storm (12-0) established a new program record with 17 successful three-pointers, surpassing the previous best of 16 that had been matched three times in team history, including earlier this season at Rutgers. 

While the schedule hasn’t been particular tough to date, St. John’s will commence the Big East portion of its 2018-19 slate on Saturday, Dec. 29, as it travels to Newark, New Jersey, for a competitive showdown with the Seton Hall Pirates. The match-up will mark the 100th meeting in the rivalry between original conference foes.