Three takeaways and perspective from St. John’s men’s basketball’s 85-71 win over New Mexico

Not only did the Red Storm resoundingly win the board battle, but they showed off their scoring depth and pushed the tempo

More than twelve thousand fans made their way to Madison Square Garden for Sunday’s matinee between St. John’s and New Mexico, with a sizable and vocal contingent from New Mexico present. While waiting to enter, fans from both schools could be heard. First, Red Storm fans called out, “Let’s Go Johnnies,” followed by the New Mexico fans responding, “Let’s Go Lobos … woof, woof, woof.”

During pregame, one Red Storm fan shared, “Every year, we say this is the year. I say this is the game. Win it, and we can say this is the year.”

First Half

A starting quintet of Kadary Richmond, Deivon Smith, R.J. Luis, Aaron Scott, and Zuby Ejiofor took the court to face an experienced Lobo team led by two fifth-year seniors.

The Red Storm and the Lobos traded baskets, with the Lobos drawing first blood on a Nelly Junior Joseph layup at the 19:47 mark. Ejiofor took down an offensive rebound and fed Smith for a layup, tying the score at six apiece. Two minutes passed without a score when Mustapha Amzil, who would join Joseph as the game’s high scorer for New Mexico, put the Lobos ahead 8-6.

Simeon Wilcher tied the score with a jumper from the right wing, followed by Richmond, who also jumped from the right wing for a 10-8 St. John’s lead.

R.J. Luis drove into the paint, drawing Lobo defenders, dishing the ball to freshman big Ruben Prey for a layup from the left side of the basket, stretching the lead to four, 12-8, with 13:22 to play in the half.

After Amzil hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to one, Deivon Smith drove hard down the paint and hit an impressive left-handed layup for a 14-11 Johnnies lead.

A 16-6 St. John’s run followed over the next six minutes, highlighted when Luis hit a backward layup as he drove from the right baseline after receiving an under-the-basket inbounds feed from Richmond. Fans exclaimed, “How did he even get that shot off, much less make it?”. The Red Storm were in control with a 30-17 lead.

The lead stretched to sixteen after Smith made another layup at the 1:27 mark. A five-point run at the end of the half brought New Mexico cut the Red Storm lead to 40-29 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

Halftime

Most impressive of the halftime statistics was the Red Storm’s dominance on the boards. The Johnnies took down 24 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end, to 13 for New Mexico, four of which were offensive boards. It was quite a contrast to the rebounding struggles the Red Storm had against Wagner. The Johnnies assisted on eleven of 18 baskets, led by five by Luis and four by Richmond. Smith led the team in the first half, scoring with twelve points, with Luis close behind with eleven points.

Second Half

The first-half starters returned to start the second half, and Richmond asserted himself with a tap-in of a Luis miss and then, on a feed from Luis, a layup to put the Johnnies up by thirteen at 44-31.

The Lobos were not going away. Two three-pointers sandwiched around a Luis layup found the Johnnies lead at nine.

All Red Storm starters were contributing, led by Luis. Aaron Scott began to find his range, hitting his second three-pointer at the 7:34 mark, just after a Junior Joseph layup had cut the Johnnies to lead to four points, 63-59.

Donovan Dent had entered the game averaging 17.3 points with 8.8 assists per game. When the game was on the line in the second half, Luis was tasked with guarding the dynamic guard. Dent was ultimately held to 12 points and six assists, well below his season average. Limiting Dent’s productivity was a reason the Red Storm remained in control throughout the game.

With an impressive 85-71 win over New Mexico, the Johnnies appeared ready to take on the challenges ahead in the upcoming tournament in the Bahamas.

Takeaway #1: Sunday was St. John’s most impressive rebounding performance of this season so far

In the previous game against Wagner, fans were concerned about the Johnnies’ struggles in boxing out Seahawk players on the Red Storm defensive boards. It was truly an issue. Not so against New Mexico.

The Johnnies outrebounded the Lobos 49 to 32 and limited the Lobos to 13 offensive rebounds. The Lobos entered the game averaging 40 rebounds per game. Leading the way were Luis with 11, Ejiofor with 10, and Richmond with eight. It was clearly a team effort, with Scott taking down six rebounds and Deivon Smith getting five.

Takeaway #2: The Red Storm’s quickness goes beyond Luis and Smith

One fan shared near the game’s end: “Is there any guard-forward combo in the country as quick as Deivon Smith and R.J. Luis?” Each player seems able to beat just about any defender, one-on-one, most of the time.

But the team speed goes further. Compared to many centers, Zuby Ejiofor is excellent at running the court, and his ball handling, in comparison to other front-court players, is above average. Kadary Richmond does not demonstrate the raw quickness of Smith but is explosive when he sets his eye on the basket. Aaron Scott showed burst on the fastbreak with a dunk off a steal in the second half, and Simeon Wilcher also appears to be quick in transition

Takeaway #3: There is no shortage of scoring depth

Every starter, Smith, Ejiofor, Richmond, Luis, and Scott, played more than 30 minutes on Sunday. Luis and Richmond led the team, playing 36 minutes each. Simeon Wilcher was the only bench player who played for over ten minutes.

All five starters scored in double-figures, with Luis leading the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Smith scored 15 points, Richmond and Scott scored 14, and Ejiofor put up 13.

Such balanced scoring makes game planning for Red Storm opponents challenging. The fact that Scott, Smith, Dunlap, and Wilcher have a reputation as competent long-range shooters adds to the uncertainty for opponents who will take the lead scoring role for the Red Storm game in and out.

Fifty-nine percent of the Red Storm’s made baskets came off assists, demonstrating that ball movement and court vision were elemental in Sunday’s win. The assist leaders for the game were Luis with seven, followed by Richmond with five. All starters had at least one assist in the game.

Outlook

As the fan stated at the beginning of the contest, “Every year we say this is the year. I say this is the game. Win it, and we can say this is the year.”

The Red Storm are one game closer to believing this is the year. But the rest of the week will support or challenge that hope.

Thirteenth-ranked Baylor is the next opponent, and there is no reason to focus on anything other than the Bears. Rebounding was a concern that needed correction for the Johnnies, and the team demonstrated its ability to control the boards during their win over New Mexico. For the 2024-25 season, St. John’s ranks 61st in the nation with a plus-nine rebounds per game margin, while Baylor ranks tied for 96th with a margin of plus-six.

What Red Storm team will appear on November 14th? The Johnnies team that struggled to box out consistently against Wagner or the team that coach Pitino described as prepared for the contest with New Mexico.

All Red Storm games have, to date, been home. The Baylor game is at a neutral site in the Bahamas. What effect will the Johnnies have playing away from home? The Bears have five players averaging double figures, including Miami transfer Norchad Omier, scoring 13.3 points per game and taking down 10.0 rebounds per game. Can someone neutralize Omier? Can the Johnnies hold their own rebounding against the Bears? If so, the superior guard play of Richmond, Smith, and Wilcher could make the difference. Keep the faith, Red Storm fans.