Box Score
QUEENS, NY -- Travel 3,000 miles to face a quick, athletic BIG EAST team on its home court and and it's a safe bet there are going to be plenty of lessons learned from the experience.
Following a 81-57 loss to St. John's at Carnesecca Arena, there were no shortage of teachable moments for a USF team that committed 21 turnovers which led to 27 Red Storm points in a 24-point loss to a team that figures to challenge for the BIG EAST title this season.Â
Three Dons scored in double figures, led by
Mark Tollefsen, who finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor.
Kruize Pinkins added 12 while
Chris Adams chipped in with 11 off the bench for USF, which was held to a season-low 57 points, depite shooting a respectable 48.8 percent from the field.
Cole Dickerson, USF's leading scorer, was not a factor in the game as he fouled out with seven and a half minutes left in the game.
D'Angelo Harrison scored a game-high 18 points for Steve Lavin's Red Storm team which improved to 7-3 with the victory, while USF falls to 6-5 overall.
The much quicker Red Storm harrassed USF into 21 turnovers and also held a 35-24 advantage on the boards. Of St. John's 35 rebounds, 15 came on the offensive glass, which led to 16 second chance points.
The Red Storm also benefitted from nine blocked shots, including four by Chris Obeka.
The Dons continue to struggle from the foul line, as USF managed to make 12-of-23 free throws this evening.
St. John's led virtually wire-to-wire, with USF's only lead in the game coming at 4-2.
The Red Storm led 26-24 with 8:33 left in the first half but proceeded to go on a 15-7 run to take a 43-31 lead at intermission.
The Johnnies wasted to time in putting this game away early in the second half, blitzing the Dons with an 11-3 run to take a 54-34 lead with 16:21 left.
St. John's built as much as a 28 point lead on three occasions in the second half before settling for the 24-point victory.
USF will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Sunday when the Dons play host to the American Eagles at 2:00 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium.
Rex Walters' Post-Game Quotes
"We played hard but we didn't play well. It's hard to win a game when you best player plays just 15 minutes. I made a calculated risk by playing him (Dickerson) and we tried to protect him in the zone."
"We had two really good practices leading into this game but sometimes it just doesn't happen. You have to move on and grow from this because it will be a game that will help us down the line."
"I though their press bothered us a bit and got us out of sorts. We didn't take care of the basketball, either. Their length and athleticism definitely bothered us and got us into a pace we weren't comfortable in playing."
"It's (free throw shooting) is a concern. I can't shoot them for them - I wish I could. We have to get in the gym and shoot free throws and when it comes time in the game, have the confidence to knock them down. The good thing is we are getting guys to the line but you have to make them pay. We tried to shoot them in bulk and for conditioning but at the end of the day players make plays. If you getting to the free throw line, you are doing something good - but you have to cash in."
"Our defensive principle stills have to get better. It has to be unrelenting. Tonight it was not."
