This wasn’t how St. John’s was supposed to come out against Bucknell.
The Bison perplexed the Johnnies with a matchup zone out of the gate, forcing them to shoot 1-of-7 from the field and give up two early turnovers before taking an 8-2 lead. Rick Pitino had seen enough, completing a hockey line change and inserting Ian Jackson, Dillon Mitchell, and Ruben Prey into the game before the first media timeout.
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The bench trio turned the Red Storm’s slow start into a distant memory by night’s end. Collectively, that triumvirate combined for 44 of the 97 points recorded by St. John’s on Thursday night in their 48-point win over Bucknell.
After Bucknell tied the game at 18 at the first half under-eight media timeout, St. John’s used a 23-7 run as a wedge against their opponents going into the halftime break. The Red Storm defense continued to squeeze the Bison, holding them to just 24 points on just 4-of-22 shooting in the second half, even keeping them from scoring for an 11-minutes-and-24-seconds stretch.
Keeping Bucknell in check allowed St. John’s to enjoy another offensive explosion, scoring 56 points in the second half. The Johnnies shot 64 percent from the field and 4-of-9 from three in the final twenty minutes.
Ian Jackson played within a flow, scoring a season-high 20 points (6-of-13 FG, 2-of-7 3P) in only 21 minutes of action and leading the team with a plus-minus of +33. Perhaps most importantly for him and coach Pitino is that he gave out three assists and not a single turnover.
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Newly minted co-captain Dillon Mitchell was a one-man wrecking crew. The Cincinnati transfer recorded a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double, then added four steals and three blocks on top of that. Midway through the second half, Mitchell went coast-to-coast and produced his finest dunk of the season, so far.
Most encouraging was the performance of Ruben Prey. The Portuguese big man provided a glimpse of what he could do with over a long stretch, logging a career-high 14 points (5-of-7 FG) and three steals, more than stepping up for Zuby Ejiofor on what was an uncharacteristically quiet outing for the Red Storm star.
The bench wasn’t completely responsible for the blowout. Bryce Hopkins looked more like the healthy version of himself last seen at Providence, matching Jackson with 20 points (7-of-9 FG), showing off a perimeter touch by making 3-of-4 from three, and initiating the fastbreak with three steals.
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With the win, St. John’s carries some momentum into the Players’ Era Festival in Las Vegas next week. Their first matchup in the Sin City event will be one of their most formidable opponents this season, as they will face No. 16 Iowa State (4-0). Tip-off from Michelob Ultra Arena is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Eastern time (1:30 p.m. Pacific) and the game will be broadcast on truTV.
