Wednesday, January 4
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
7:30 PM
Creighton University
14-1 (2-1BE)
85
at
72
St. John's
8-8 (2-1BE)
1
2
F
Creighton
44
41
85
St. John's
26
46
72
Marcus Foster
Photo by: A.J. Olnes
Patton's Season-High Lifts #10 Men's Basketball Over Red Storm
1/4/2017 9:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Creighton never trails while improving to 14-1
QUEENS, N.Y. -- Justin Patton had a season-high 25 points as No. 10 Creighton shook off its first loss of the season with an 85-72 wire-to-wire victory at St. John's on Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y.
Creighton improved to 14-1 and at 2-1 is one-half game behind Xavier for the BIG EAST lead. St. John's dropped to 8-8 overall and is also 2-1 in BIG EAST action.
The Bluejays scored the game's first seven points, showing no hangover from Saturday''s loss to No. 1 Villanova. Marcus Foster finished a reverse jam on an alley-oop just seconds into the game, and Patton scored inside two trips later. The lead grew to 7-0 on a three-point play by Maurice Watson Jr.
St. John's got within two points at 13-11 before Creighton used an 11-0 run to pull away. Three-point plays by Khyri Thomas and Marcus Foster, as well as a pair of dunks from Patton, sparked the run. Two baskets by Red Storm freshman Marcus LoVett prompted a Bluejay timeout before hoops from Cole Huff, Watson and Toby Hegner factored in a 7-0 run as Creighton went up 31-16.
The Red Storm would answer to draw within nine at 33-24 before CU closed the stanza on an 11-2 run while making its final five shots. Patton had seven of his game-high 14 first half points in the run to end the period. Creighton shot 18-for-31 from the floor in the first half while holding SJU to 12-of-38 marksmanship.
Patton scored inside and Huff went coast-to-coast after a steal as Creighton's run reached 15-2 and SJU coach Chris Mullin used his final timeout with 19:00 left. The break did little to halt CU's momentum, as Thomas followed a defensive stop with a dunk as the lead stretched to 50-26 thanks to eight straight made buckets. The Red Storm responded with an 8-1 run to draw within 17 points at 51-34 by the first media timeout, and trailed just 57-44 with 11:01 to play.
The lead was trimmed to single-digits with 6:15 to play on a bucket by LoVett, making it 63-55. But Watson answered with a three-pointer to return the lead to 66-55, then later hit a big trey as Creighton went ahead 73-60 with 3:15 to go. St. John's never got closer than 10 the rest of the night.
Patton had 25 points and nine rebounds, adding four assists. He had five of CU's nine dunks on the evening. Foster had 15 and Watson added 19 points. Thomas had another solid all-around game with 11 points, five assists and five rebounds. The Bluejays shot 52.3 percent for the game despite 27.8 percent long-range shooting. CU also converted 12-of-16 free throws, tied the rebound battle at 40-40, and outscored St. John's 52-24 in the paint.
St. John's was led by 23 points from LoVett and 17 more from Ponds, while Tariq Owens added a season-best 12. The Red Storm shot 39.4 percent overall and were 7-of-22 from deep.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday at 1:05 pm Central with a game at Providence (11-5, 1-2 BIG EAST) that will air on CBS Sports Network.
NOTES: Creighton has started 6-0 in road/neutral games for just the second-time since World War II, having also started 6-0 in 2012-13 ... Justin Patton now owns 39 dunks this season, a figure that is the most in any season by any Creighton player under Greg McDermott ... Marcus Foster has scored 15 points or more in 14-of-15 games this season for Creighton ... Foster and St. John's guard Shamorie Ponds were issued a double-technical foul in the second half ... Creighton had a 12-2 advantage in fast break points.
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. No. 10 Creighton
Marcus LoVett, Shamorie Ponds and Chris Mullin spoke to the media following a loss to No. 10 Creighton.
Jan. 4, 2017
Web Release: http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010517aaa.html
St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin…
On his thoughts on the game:
"I didn't like our overall energy. It seemed like we started in slow motion on offense and defense. I thought they controlled the whole game. I didn't really think our disposition was good. We didn't put any type imprint on the game, individually and collectively. We tried and hung in there in the second half, but we were down such a big hole. ... When you shoot 39 percent, you probably aren't going to do that well."
On Justin Patton and his NBA potential:
"He reminds me of Marcus Camby. [He has] great hands and even banged a three. Especially tonight, he looked All-NBA."
On how easy Creighton was able to get to the rim:
"I've watched enough of them on tape and we tried to control [that], but they took control from the start. [Maurice] Watson Jr. has an incredible motor and he gets the ball up there. They did what they wanted to do. Our transition defense, which we really emphasized, just wasn't there."
On the reason behind the slow start:
"It could be a lot of reasons. We're going to take a day off tomorrow and rest. To win games like this you have to play through [being tired] so I wouldn't use that as an excuse. It could be a factor, but both teams go through that."
On the team's shot selection:
"I thought we were a little stagnant. We were moving so slow. Coming off screens and getting into pick-and-rolls, we were just too slow and they were the opposite. They're not only quick on offense; they are quick on defense so you have to attack them. I told our team at halftime, 'The games we played well it didn't just happen, we made it happen.' To get good shots you have to cut hard, screen hard and be aggressive. We know that, we've done that, but just not tonight."
Freshman Guard Marcus LoVett…
On Khyri Thomas' defensive play:
"He did a good job, but I wasn't aggressive. I felt like I should've been more aggressive. Give credit to their team. They had a good game plan and know how to play with each other."
On Creighton:
"They were the toughest team we've played physically. They're tough and it's going to be hard to beat them. We need to take the day off and [work to] get better."
Freshman Guard Shamorie Ponds…
On Justin Patton:
"That's a tough task for us. He's a big guy, has multiple moves and we didn't have an answer for him. He's a great player."
On what went wrong in the first half:
"A little bit of effort and not communicating. That's why they were able to get those big runs on us. I felt like if we would've talked more, we would've been able to get to those certain spots that we needed to for us to contain them."
Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott…
Opening Statement:
"It goes without saying, this is a really good win for us. The last three games that St. John's has played have been really impressive. Not just that they've scored the ball, but their execution defensively compared to some of the games earlier in the season, there was much more of a purpose to what they were doing defensively. You can see the young guys grow up as you watch them on film from the start of the season to more recently. I was scared to death of this game. Fortunately our guys were really good defensively in the first half. I thought that the shots St. John's made was challenged shots and our execution was good, we didn't turn it over much. We were able to build that lead and fortunately we had the lead because we knew they would make a run. Fortunately we were able to hang on and win in the end."
On Justin Patton's performance:
"Justin's best basketball is still ahead of him. He continues to grow and improve. A lot of it has to do with his work ethic and how he understands the value of competing on a consistent basis. As good as he was offensively the first half, he was equally as good defensively. That wasn't the case the first five or six games of the season. His low post game continues to develop… His patience down there and his footwork is off the charts. He's been a pleasure to coach and he's obviously a special young talent."
On Justin Patton's development:
"He might even be surprising himself. We saw Justin as a junior in high school. To see his growth in just a few years is incredible. A lot of it is because he loves the game. He willingly takes coaching and his teammates trust him. That's not often the case with a freshman. But they know they can throw it up to 12-13 feet and he's going to go get it and get them an assist instead of a turnover. He continues to just get better. Nothing surprises me because I've seen the potential in him for a long time."
On being "scared to death" to play St. John's:
"Anybody that watched the Syracuse game was scared, because that was a heck of a performance. Butler beat Villanova tonight and St. John's just beat Butler. It's a team that is learning how to win and is very confident in what they were doing. Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett are really talented, young guards. They put pressure on you every single time. When you have guys that can get to the rim and you have five guys shooting essentially 40 percent from the three-point line, it puts a lot of stress on your defense. Fortunately for us we were able to run them off the three-point line in the first half and [Justin Patton] was able to protect the rim."
On Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett:
"Coach Mullin has a great young team. They have a lot of really good pieces… We recruited Shamorie and I watched him play a ton and his development has been incredible. He's spent a tremendous amount of time on his game and his handles and his floater. We just weren't sure how quickly, with his body, he could do it in the BIG EAST but he's doing it pretty well for a young player. Shamorie is stronger and I think his ability to shoot the three, if you leave him open then you're going to pay for it. You wonder if a high school player can transfer his talent to the next level, if he can slow himself down and play with the correct pace and he's really good at that. It's hard to speed him up. That's usually a sign of a mature guard. Young guards you can hurry them up and get them out of rhythm, but that's really difficult to do with [Shamorie Ponds]."
On the strength of the BIG EAST:
"The league is really, really good… There are no easy games. Teams are extremely well coached and there are great players throughout the league. Sometimes the other team makes a few more shots and wins the game; I thought that was the case in our game with Villanova. My guess is Butler made a few more than Villanova from the perimeter tonight. Nothing comes easy. It's a really good basketball league and frankly everything we could have hoped for, being one of the newcomers to the league. It's an honor to be a part of the BIG EAST and it's an honor to do our part to make the league as strong as it can possibly be."
Freshman Center Justin Patton…
On being ready to play St. John's:
"The coaches did a good job of preparation this week and we were ready for this game. We started off practice with an extra 30 minutes of just getting back to basics and fundamentals. I think that was a key part of why we played so well defensively in the first half. We prepared really well for this game and we were ready for it. We came out with a win which is great for us."
On surviving the St. John's run in the second half:
"We've been in that position before but [St. John's] is a totally different team. They're really aggressive as you saw with the press. We just wanted to keep putting our own pressure on them and putting up points and playing defense. We came out a bit slow on defense in the second half, but we got it fixed and came out with a win. We were just focused on our defensive presence in the second half."
Creighton improved to 14-1 and at 2-1 is one-half game behind Xavier for the BIG EAST lead. St. John's dropped to 8-8 overall and is also 2-1 in BIG EAST action.
The Bluejays scored the game's first seven points, showing no hangover from Saturday''s loss to No. 1 Villanova. Marcus Foster finished a reverse jam on an alley-oop just seconds into the game, and Patton scored inside two trips later. The lead grew to 7-0 on a three-point play by Maurice Watson Jr.
St. John's got within two points at 13-11 before Creighton used an 11-0 run to pull away. Three-point plays by Khyri Thomas and Marcus Foster, as well as a pair of dunks from Patton, sparked the run. Two baskets by Red Storm freshman Marcus LoVett prompted a Bluejay timeout before hoops from Cole Huff, Watson and Toby Hegner factored in a 7-0 run as Creighton went up 31-16.
The Red Storm would answer to draw within nine at 33-24 before CU closed the stanza on an 11-2 run while making its final five shots. Patton had seven of his game-high 14 first half points in the run to end the period. Creighton shot 18-for-31 from the floor in the first half while holding SJU to 12-of-38 marksmanship.
Patton scored inside and Huff went coast-to-coast after a steal as Creighton's run reached 15-2 and SJU coach Chris Mullin used his final timeout with 19:00 left. The break did little to halt CU's momentum, as Thomas followed a defensive stop with a dunk as the lead stretched to 50-26 thanks to eight straight made buckets. The Red Storm responded with an 8-1 run to draw within 17 points at 51-34 by the first media timeout, and trailed just 57-44 with 11:01 to play.
The lead was trimmed to single-digits with 6:15 to play on a bucket by LoVett, making it 63-55. But Watson answered with a three-pointer to return the lead to 66-55, then later hit a big trey as Creighton went ahead 73-60 with 3:15 to go. St. John's never got closer than 10 the rest of the night.
Patton had 25 points and nine rebounds, adding four assists. He had five of CU's nine dunks on the evening. Foster had 15 and Watson added 19 points. Thomas had another solid all-around game with 11 points, five assists and five rebounds. The Bluejays shot 52.3 percent for the game despite 27.8 percent long-range shooting. CU also converted 12-of-16 free throws, tied the rebound battle at 40-40, and outscored St. John's 52-24 in the paint.
St. John's was led by 23 points from LoVett and 17 more from Ponds, while Tariq Owens added a season-best 12. The Red Storm shot 39.4 percent overall and were 7-of-22 from deep.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday at 1:05 pm Central with a game at Providence (11-5, 1-2 BIG EAST) that will air on CBS Sports Network.
NOTES: Creighton has started 6-0 in road/neutral games for just the second-time since World War II, having also started 6-0 in 2012-13 ... Justin Patton now owns 39 dunks this season, a figure that is the most in any season by any Creighton player under Greg McDermott ... Marcus Foster has scored 15 points or more in 14-of-15 games this season for Creighton ... Foster and St. John's guard Shamorie Ponds were issued a double-technical foul in the second half ... Creighton had a 12-2 advantage in fast break points.
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. No. 10 Creighton
Marcus LoVett, Shamorie Ponds and Chris Mullin spoke to the media following a loss to No. 10 Creighton.
Jan. 4, 2017
Web Release: http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010517aaa.html
St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin…
On his thoughts on the game:
"I didn't like our overall energy. It seemed like we started in slow motion on offense and defense. I thought they controlled the whole game. I didn't really think our disposition was good. We didn't put any type imprint on the game, individually and collectively. We tried and hung in there in the second half, but we were down such a big hole. ... When you shoot 39 percent, you probably aren't going to do that well."
On Justin Patton and his NBA potential:
"He reminds me of Marcus Camby. [He has] great hands and even banged a three. Especially tonight, he looked All-NBA."
On how easy Creighton was able to get to the rim:
"I've watched enough of them on tape and we tried to control [that], but they took control from the start. [Maurice] Watson Jr. has an incredible motor and he gets the ball up there. They did what they wanted to do. Our transition defense, which we really emphasized, just wasn't there."
On the reason behind the slow start:
"It could be a lot of reasons. We're going to take a day off tomorrow and rest. To win games like this you have to play through [being tired] so I wouldn't use that as an excuse. It could be a factor, but both teams go through that."
On the team's shot selection:
"I thought we were a little stagnant. We were moving so slow. Coming off screens and getting into pick-and-rolls, we were just too slow and they were the opposite. They're not only quick on offense; they are quick on defense so you have to attack them. I told our team at halftime, 'The games we played well it didn't just happen, we made it happen.' To get good shots you have to cut hard, screen hard and be aggressive. We know that, we've done that, but just not tonight."
Freshman Guard Marcus LoVett…
On Khyri Thomas' defensive play:
"He did a good job, but I wasn't aggressive. I felt like I should've been more aggressive. Give credit to their team. They had a good game plan and know how to play with each other."
On Creighton:
"They were the toughest team we've played physically. They're tough and it's going to be hard to beat them. We need to take the day off and [work to] get better."
Freshman Guard Shamorie Ponds…
On Justin Patton:
"That's a tough task for us. He's a big guy, has multiple moves and we didn't have an answer for him. He's a great player."
On what went wrong in the first half:
"A little bit of effort and not communicating. That's why they were able to get those big runs on us. I felt like if we would've talked more, we would've been able to get to those certain spots that we needed to for us to contain them."
Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott…
Opening Statement:
"It goes without saying, this is a really good win for us. The last three games that St. John's has played have been really impressive. Not just that they've scored the ball, but their execution defensively compared to some of the games earlier in the season, there was much more of a purpose to what they were doing defensively. You can see the young guys grow up as you watch them on film from the start of the season to more recently. I was scared to death of this game. Fortunately our guys were really good defensively in the first half. I thought that the shots St. John's made was challenged shots and our execution was good, we didn't turn it over much. We were able to build that lead and fortunately we had the lead because we knew they would make a run. Fortunately we were able to hang on and win in the end."
On Justin Patton's performance:
"Justin's best basketball is still ahead of him. He continues to grow and improve. A lot of it has to do with his work ethic and how he understands the value of competing on a consistent basis. As good as he was offensively the first half, he was equally as good defensively. That wasn't the case the first five or six games of the season. His low post game continues to develop… His patience down there and his footwork is off the charts. He's been a pleasure to coach and he's obviously a special young talent."
On Justin Patton's development:
"He might even be surprising himself. We saw Justin as a junior in high school. To see his growth in just a few years is incredible. A lot of it is because he loves the game. He willingly takes coaching and his teammates trust him. That's not often the case with a freshman. But they know they can throw it up to 12-13 feet and he's going to go get it and get them an assist instead of a turnover. He continues to just get better. Nothing surprises me because I've seen the potential in him for a long time."
On being "scared to death" to play St. John's:
"Anybody that watched the Syracuse game was scared, because that was a heck of a performance. Butler beat Villanova tonight and St. John's just beat Butler. It's a team that is learning how to win and is very confident in what they were doing. Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett are really talented, young guards. They put pressure on you every single time. When you have guys that can get to the rim and you have five guys shooting essentially 40 percent from the three-point line, it puts a lot of stress on your defense. Fortunately for us we were able to run them off the three-point line in the first half and [Justin Patton] was able to protect the rim."
On Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett:
"Coach Mullin has a great young team. They have a lot of really good pieces… We recruited Shamorie and I watched him play a ton and his development has been incredible. He's spent a tremendous amount of time on his game and his handles and his floater. We just weren't sure how quickly, with his body, he could do it in the BIG EAST but he's doing it pretty well for a young player. Shamorie is stronger and I think his ability to shoot the three, if you leave him open then you're going to pay for it. You wonder if a high school player can transfer his talent to the next level, if he can slow himself down and play with the correct pace and he's really good at that. It's hard to speed him up. That's usually a sign of a mature guard. Young guards you can hurry them up and get them out of rhythm, but that's really difficult to do with [Shamorie Ponds]."
On the strength of the BIG EAST:
"The league is really, really good… There are no easy games. Teams are extremely well coached and there are great players throughout the league. Sometimes the other team makes a few more shots and wins the game; I thought that was the case in our game with Villanova. My guess is Butler made a few more than Villanova from the perimeter tonight. Nothing comes easy. It's a really good basketball league and frankly everything we could have hoped for, being one of the newcomers to the league. It's an honor to be a part of the BIG EAST and it's an honor to do our part to make the league as strong as it can possibly be."
Freshman Center Justin Patton…
On being ready to play St. John's:
"The coaches did a good job of preparation this week and we were ready for this game. We started off practice with an extra 30 minutes of just getting back to basics and fundamentals. I think that was a key part of why we played so well defensively in the first half. We prepared really well for this game and we were ready for it. We came out with a win which is great for us."
On surviving the St. John's run in the second half:
"We've been in that position before but [St. John's] is a totally different team. They're really aggressive as you saw with the press. We just wanted to keep putting our own pressure on them and putting up points and playing defense. We came out a bit slow on defense in the second half, but we got it fixed and came out with a win. We were just focused on our defensive presence in the second half."
Team Stats
CU
SJU
FG%
.523
.394
3FG%
.278
.318
FT%
.750
.692
RB
40
40
TO
8
8
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
11
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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