New York, NY – St. John’s (16-12) had one of their best collective performances this season on Sunday to snap #15 ranked Creighton’s (20-8) four game win streak, with an 80-66 victory at Madison Square Garden. The Johnnies staved off every comeback push the Blue Jays attempted with relentless defense and steady scoring from the senior starting backcourt of Jordan Dingle and Daniss Jenkins combining for 45 points. Trey Alexander scored a season-high 31 points in the loss for the Blue Jays.
Creighton made a 10-0 run to take the lead back in the first half 25-24 when St. John’s went to their reserves. Alexander kickstarted things with back-to-back threes. Trey found a lot of success on offense over the course of this matchup. He was dominant navigating pick and rolls, routinely putting defenders on his back as he snaked center Ryan Kalkbrenner’s screens, leading to multiple mid-range pull up jumpshots. Kalkbrenner would do his best “Gortat” screen to give Trey as much breathing room, and simultaneously position himself for second chance points. Kalkbrenner was their defensive centerpiece, tallying a career-high eight blocks. His massive length gave St. John’s fits and they paid the price not respecting it. He didn’t get much resistance in the post either, getting deep in the paint right into an efficient soft hook. Creighton should’ve sought more ways to feed it to him, as he only finished with 12 points on 11 shots.
Creighton struggled to create open looks from the perimeter, leading to a highly inefficient 6-of-26 from deep. Baylor Scheierman hit the first three of the game before going ice cold. He’d go 1-of-10 outside the arc and 4-of-16 from the field. Steven Ashworth, who was hot over the course of their winning streak, went 1-of-6 from deep this contest. The Blue Jays came into this game sixth in 3-pointers made per game in Division 1 at 10.7. Alexander provided most of their 3-point scoring, knocking down four of their six makes. All things considered, they were still only down a mere five points at the under-8 media timeout thanks to Alexander’s herculean effort. But one last run from St. John’s sealed the deal.
Floor general Daniss Jenkins had arguably his best game of the year, impacting all facets of the game with 27 points, six assists, two steals and two blocks. He’s been St. John’s engine all season long and played with such confidence throughout the game. His feel was incredible, and when the game was still in the balance he sealed the deal with his own 11-0 run. Backcourt mate Jordan Dingle provided his own scoring spark down the stretch with 12 second half points through mid-range jumpers. Similar to Alexander, both guards found success exploiting the space inside the arc when Kalkbrenner was in drop coverage. Despite his eight blocks, the Red Storm still found success inside for 34 paint points. Defensively they were in sync in all their strategies. They showed bodies when Creighton looked to feed Kalkbrenner down low, and rotated extremely well to not give up any open 3-point looks. The unsung hero in this win was Glenn Taylor Jr., getting his first start after seeing his role diminish. He accumulated 10 rebounds, six assists, one block and a steal on the day in his return to the starting lineup.
St. John’s kept their national tournament hopes alive with a dominant game against a ranked opponent. To come out on top in a must-win situation should give them the confidence they need to sweep the rest of their conference games. They look to extend their win-streak to three on the road against Butler on Wednesday, February 28th.
Creighton was fresh off a massive upset themselves, taking down the #1 ranked team in the nation UConn. They may have eased up a bit following that tense match-up earlier in the week, but this loss proved there’s still room to improve before the Big East tournament back at Madison Square Garden. Creighton’s next outing will be against a tough Seton Hall crew at home on the 28th as well.
This article was written by Justin Maldonado, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
We are looking for those interested in our basketball scout apprenticeship program. For information contact us and forward your resume.
