St. John's Bops Bucknell

Ruben Prey burying a three-pointer. @StJohnsBball.

 

The St. John's Red Storm won their second straight at Carnesecca Arena, as they rolled past Bucknell, 97-49, on Thursday night.

The Red Storm, ranked 14th nationally in the AP Top 25 Poll, are now 3-1 on the season, and they head to Las Vegas to take part in the Players Era Championship on Monday afternoon against Iowa Star, with tip off at 4:30 p.m. eastern time.

St. John's led this one 41-25 at halftime before exploding for 56 points in the second half, as they shot 64.5 percent, or 20-31, in the final 20 minutes.

Bryce Hopkins and Ian Jackson each poured in 20 points for the Red Storm. Hopkins shot 7-9 overall, including 3-4 from behind the arc, with three rebounds and three assists, while Jackson, who came off the bench, was 6-13 (2-7 on threes), with four rebounds and three assists.

Ruben Prey had 14 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 threes), three steals, two assists, and two rebounds off the bench, while Joson Sanon and Dillon Mitchell had 10 points apiece, giving St. John's five scorers in double figures.

PITINO POSTGAME: St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino addressed the media after the game, and he opened with this statement: "Sometimes basketball is a strange game. In practice, the second-unit guys dominated the first unit with tremendous enthusiasm and fire, and it carried over. Dillon Mitchell, Ian Jackson and Ruben Prey shot 15-for-27 from the field, they had one turnover and 17 rebounds. They gave us a big lift when the first unit was struggling offensively."

On Ian Jackson: "I thought he did a really good job defensively as well as offensively. He didn't force things, he took what was there. In practice he's getting better and better, so I'm really impressed with his play."

On the challenges ahead in Las Vegas: "Iowa State and Houston are as difficult to play against as any teams in basketball. Their defense and rebounding are relentless. It's great for us to go against that competition."

On what this team can become: "We have four new starters, so it takes time. We're going to get better and better and better. We're a deep team with a great attitude. Whether we go 3-0 or 2-1 (in Vegas), we're not going to get too high or disappointed. we're just going to keep playing and improving."

On the state of college basketball: "I am so impressed with college basketball, more than ever in my coaching career. The influx of foreign players staying in college instead of going to European pro teams has made the game stronger, and players sticking around has done the same. From an execution and talent standpoint, the game is at its zenith."