The St. John’s men’s basketball team will continue its five-game homestand on Tuesday evening, welcoming Saint Peter’s to Carnesecca Arena for a 6:30 p.m. tip.
The game will be broadcast live nationally on FS1 with Brian Custer and Jim Spanarkel on the call from Queens. The contest will also air on 970 AM WNYM with John Minko and Tarik Turner narrating the action courtside at Carnesecca Arena. That Red Storm Sports Network production can also be found on TuneIn and Sirius XM.
The Johnnies, who will make their 2019-20 Madison Square Garden debut on Saturday against undefeated West Virginia, welcome Saint Peter’s to Queens for the first matchup between the two programs since the ECAC Playoffs in 1976. St. John’s is 17-0 all-time against its neighbor from Jersey City in a series that dates back to 1910.
St. John’s will look to pick up its third consecutive win when it takes the floor on Tuesday evening against the Peacocks. Most recently, the Red Storm improved to 5-1 at home with an 86-63 win over Wagner on Saturday, shooting 49 percent from the floor and recording 23 assists on 33 baskets to push past the Seahawks.
Mustapha Heron snapped out of a brief scoring skid, tallying 18 points in just 16 minutes of action to help St. John’s open an early lead and never look back. The senior guard shot 7-of-11 from the floor, including a 3-for-6 effort from beyond the arc, while dishing out three assists and blocking a shot. The Preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST selection and three-time pick to the Jerry West Award Watch List leads the Red Storm in scoring with 14.8 points per game this season.
Heron led four Johnnies in double figures against Wagner, as Rasheem Dunn tallied 14 points while Julian Champagnie and Josh Roberts kicked in 12 points apiece. Roberts also led the team in rebounding for the fifth straight game, pulling down nine boards in a near double-double. The sophomore’s 8.8 rebounds per game rank sixth in the conference while his 2.8 blocks per contest are good enough for second in the BIG EAST. Champagnie recorded his team-high sixth double-figure scoring effort in eight tries, going 5-for-8 from the floor and registering a season-high four steals on the defensive end.
LJ Figueroa took on the role of distributor against Wagner, matching a career high with six assists to go along with six points and six rebounds. On the season, Figueroa ranks second on the squad with 14.1 points per game.
Saint Peter’s comes to Queens on the heels of its first win of the season, taking down St. Francis Brooklyn, 67-59, on Saturday at the Yanitelli Center. Freshman Doug Edert a local product out of Bergen Catholic, scored 18 points to lead Saint Peter’s in the victory. 10 Peacocks in total recorded at least one point in the win while 12 different players in total saw the floor.
Edert is the only Saint Peter’s player that is averaging double figures this season with 11.0 points per game. As a team, the Peacocks are averaging 58.8 points per contest while allowing 69.3.
The Peacocks are led by second-year head coach Shaheen Holloway, who turned in a 10-22 record in his first season at the helm in Jersey City a year ago. Holloway is no stranger to the BIG EAST, having served as the associate head coach at Seton Hall for eight seasons prior to taking over at Saint Peter’s. He also played his college basketball in South Orange, anchoring the Pirates to the Sweet 16 in 2000.
Tickets for Tuesday’s game are available by visiting RedStormTix.com.