Torch Photo / James Williams
The No. 22 St. John’s Men’s Basketball team closed their Bahamas trip with a loss against the Georgia Bulldogs, 66-63, on Nov. 24. In a gritty, standalone game at Atlantis’ Imperial Arena, it was a hard-fought, turnover-filled affair where both teams struggled to maintain dominance.
The Red Storm, starting with Kadary Richmond, Deivon Smith, RJ Luis Jr., Aaron Scott and Zuby Ejiofor, won the opening tip but faced early fumbles, with Ejiofor committing a travel just 20 seconds in. Luis put the team on the board two minutes into the game with a layup, but the rest of the first half quickly became a “dogfight.”
Georgia, fresh off an 80-69 loss to No. 15 Marquette, showed their resolve with Asa Newell (18 pts., 5 reb.) leading the charge. On-court intensity quickly became a point of contention, as pushes led to double technicals between Smith and Georgia’s Somto Cyril.
Those weren’t the only technicals issued in the half. Simeon Wilcher and Silas Demary further evened the field with two for each squad.
The remainder of the first half saw no team able to establish a real lead, remaining a one-possession game throughout. The Bulldogs led 32-28 at the half.
The last 20 minutes remained the same, with both teams exhibiting tough defense that saw four Georgia players foul out. Despite multiple scoring runs, the Red Storm fought hard to keep pace, even with offensive struggles. The team shot 2-19 from beyond the arc and 19-61 from the field, compared to Georgias 24-49. The Bulldogs’ 24 fouls and 24 turnovers still weren’t enough to tip the scales in the Red Storm’s favor.
St. John’s relied heavily on Ejiofor (22 pts., 8 reb), who had a great weekend despite two losses. After heartbreaking free-throw misses in Nov. 22’s loss to No. 13 Baylor, Ejiofor has gone 14-15 from the line.
While missing two key resume-building games, St. John’s needs to reassess offensive and defensive strategies. The lack of three-point consistency and few mistakes became glaring factors in this weekend’s outcomes. The Red Storm will return to New York with a 1-2 record, having lost both games by a combined four-point margin, looking for a win at Carnesecca Arena on Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. vs. Harvard.
