This Team Has Grit
Don’t count us out just yet. Every time I am convinced the season’s over, this team makes me a believer again. Last night reminded me why I bleed St. John’s basketball. It was one of those games that made you proud to be a student, alumni, fan, etc. Last night’s victory was a super gritty performance, led by a tremendous effort from Rasheem Dunn. In March, it’s easy to see which team/which player wants it more. Dunn, who will be graduating this May, understands that this is his last chance at an NCAA tournament. Every game from here on out is literally the most important game of his life and last night he played like that.
Player of the Game
Rasheem Dunn was the obvious choice for last night’s player of the game.
Dunn reminded us the importance of strong senior leadership in March. He scored a season high 21-points last night while shooting at a high clip. He played relentlessly on the defensive side of the ball and caused havoc for the Providence backcourt down the stretch in this one. You could tell he knew that with Posh out of the lineup, this was his time to take over.
Double-double x2
Julian Champagnie and Isaih Moore both registered double-double totals last night during St. John’s comeback victory over Providence. Julian chipped in 16-points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Isaih Moore tallied 10-points and crashed the boards hard for 11 rebounds. Even in a game where Julian struggled to get his shot going, he created offense for himself by taking the ball to the rack and drawing fouls. He continues to be ultra-consistent night in and night out, which is all you can ask for from your best player and team leader.
Isaih Moore was phenomenal off of the bench and played such an important role in last nights victory.
To be plus-26 in a single game is simply ridiculous. Especially when this game was close for a majority of it. St. John’s was on another level when Moore was in there doing his thing and it didn’t go unnoticed.
Stepping up
Greg Williams Jr. has been battling a back injury for the better part of this season. Last night he looked as healthy as ever before and came up HUGE for us when we needed him the most. It’s never easy when you go into a “must-win” game without one of your top players (Posh Alexander), but it makes things easier when you have a guy like Greg Williams who isn’t afraid of the moment and was ready to step up. Greg scored 15 points last night, played hard nosed defense, and converted all his attempts at the line. He will continue to be an x-factor for this team as we head down a stretch of “must win” games.
Greg Williams Jr. highlights:
Box Score
| Starters | Reb | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| Roberts | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Champagnie | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Cole | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Williams Jr. | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| Dunn | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 21 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Moore | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Earlington | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Wusu | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| McGriff | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Barstool St. John's 