FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Win No. 1: Mullin Leads St. John’s Past Wagner, 66-57, in Season-Opener
Federico Mussini scores game-high 18 points to lead Red Storm to victory.
Web release: http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/111315aac.html
· Box Score
· Quotes
· Press Conference Video
· Intro Video
· Photo Gallery
QUEENS, N.Y. (Nov. 13, 2015) – First-year head coach Chris Mullin needed just one game to collect win No. 1 as his St. John’s squad pulled away late to defeat Wagner, 66-57, in front of 4,677 fans at Carnesecca Arena.
St. John’s had three freshmen in the starting lineup and a total of seven players made their Red Storm debuts in a close contest that featured seven ties and 19 lead changes.
“I think the lesson [today] is that we’re building this [program] one brick at a time,” said Mullin. “Despite setbacks or good times, we have work to do. What’s going to keep us grounded is that we’re building something, so the diligence and the attention to details will not waiver on outcomes.”
Freshman Federico Mussini (Reggio Emilia, Italy) finished with a game-high 18 points and made 4-of-6 3-pointers, including a corner trey that beat the shot clock and gave the Red Storm a six-point lead with just 1:15 left in regulation. Mussini was joined in the starting lineup by classmates Yankuba Sima (Girona, Spain), who added eight points and eight rebounds, and Malik Ellison (Voorhees, N.J.), who contributed seven points and two assists.
“I’m really happy about this game because we won and that’s all that really matters,” said Mussini. “My [open] shots came from my teammates drives like Durand [Johnson], who did a great job occupying the defense and finding me open.”
The Red Storm also received contributions from the three transfers that were brought in to add experience to a young roster. Durand Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) had 12 points to go with eight boards. Ron Mvouika (Paris, France) finished with nine points and Darien Williams (San Francisco, Calif.) totaled four points and three boards.
St. John’s shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the floor, including a 45.0 percent clip from long range (9-of-20).
Corey Henson made 4-of-8 3-pointers as part of a team-high 16-point effort to lead Wagner (0-1). Dwaun Anderson added an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double and Japhet Kadji finished with 14 points. The Seahawks shot just 31.7 percent (19-of-60) from the floor and made 8-of-22 3-pointers (36.4 percent).
“The things that are going to help us win games are defense and rebounding,” said Mullin. “We’ve spent a lot of time on our team defense and our individual philosophy so we’ve been getting better there.”
The Red Storm led by one at the break before a Johnson 3-pointer and a Sima jumper pushed the lead to six, 39-33. Back-to-back Wagner 3s, however, tied the game for the seventh time with 14:34 to play.
The teams traded leads until Sima gave the Red Storm a three-point advantage with an emphatic two-handed slam at the 9:37 mark. St. John’s still led by three, 53-50, with 6:20 to play, a score that remained the same until an Ellison free throw more than three minutes later.
The Seahawks closed to three again on a Kadji 3 at the 1:47 mark, but Mussini answered with his shot clock-beating triple as St. John’s closed out the season-opening win.
“It feels good to get coach [Mullin’s] first win,” said Johnson. “We talk about everyday getting better and we laid one brick today. We’re taking it one game at a time. We have a good team coming in Monday with UMBC and that’s our focus right now.”
St. John’s returns to action on Monday, hosting UMBC for a 7 p.m. game at Carnesecca Arena. Justin Kutcher and Jim Spanarkel have the call for FS1. The St. John’s IMG Sports Network radio broadcast with John Minko and Brandon Tierney can be heard on 970 AM WNYM.
Win No. 1: Mullin Leads St. John’s Past Wagner, 66-57, in Season-Opener
Federico Mussini scores game-high 18 points to lead Red Storm to victory.
Web release: http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/111315aac.html
· Box Score
· Quotes
· Press Conference Video
· Intro Video
· Photo Gallery
QUEENS, N.Y. (Nov. 13, 2015) – First-year head coach Chris Mullin needed just one game to collect win No. 1 as his St. John’s squad pulled away late to defeat Wagner, 66-57, in front of 4,677 fans at Carnesecca Arena.
St. John’s had three freshmen in the starting lineup and a total of seven players made their Red Storm debuts in a close contest that featured seven ties and 19 lead changes.
“I think the lesson [today] is that we’re building this [program] one brick at a time,” said Mullin. “Despite setbacks or good times, we have work to do. What’s going to keep us grounded is that we’re building something, so the diligence and the attention to details will not waiver on outcomes.”
Freshman Federico Mussini (Reggio Emilia, Italy) finished with a game-high 18 points and made 4-of-6 3-pointers, including a corner trey that beat the shot clock and gave the Red Storm a six-point lead with just 1:15 left in regulation. Mussini was joined in the starting lineup by classmates Yankuba Sima (Girona, Spain), who added eight points and eight rebounds, and Malik Ellison (Voorhees, N.J.), who contributed seven points and two assists.
“I’m really happy about this game because we won and that’s all that really matters,” said Mussini. “My [open] shots came from my teammates drives like Durand [Johnson], who did a great job occupying the defense and finding me open.”
The Red Storm also received contributions from the three transfers that were brought in to add experience to a young roster. Durand Johnson (Baltimore, Md.) had 12 points to go with eight boards. Ron Mvouika (Paris, France) finished with nine points and Darien Williams (San Francisco, Calif.) totaled four points and three boards.
St. John’s shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the floor, including a 45.0 percent clip from long range (9-of-20).
Corey Henson made 4-of-8 3-pointers as part of a team-high 16-point effort to lead Wagner (0-1). Dwaun Anderson added an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double and Japhet Kadji finished with 14 points. The Seahawks shot just 31.7 percent (19-of-60) from the floor and made 8-of-22 3-pointers (36.4 percent).
“The things that are going to help us win games are defense and rebounding,” said Mullin. “We’ve spent a lot of time on our team defense and our individual philosophy so we’ve been getting better there.”
The Red Storm led by one at the break before a Johnson 3-pointer and a Sima jumper pushed the lead to six, 39-33. Back-to-back Wagner 3s, however, tied the game for the seventh time with 14:34 to play.
The teams traded leads until Sima gave the Red Storm a three-point advantage with an emphatic two-handed slam at the 9:37 mark. St. John’s still led by three, 53-50, with 6:20 to play, a score that remained the same until an Ellison free throw more than three minutes later.
The Seahawks closed to three again on a Kadji 3 at the 1:47 mark, but Mussini answered with his shot clock-beating triple as St. John’s closed out the season-opening win.
“It feels good to get coach [Mullin’s] first win,” said Johnson. “We talk about everyday getting better and we laid one brick today. We’re taking it one game at a time. We have a good team coming in Monday with UMBC and that’s our focus right now.”
St. John’s returns to action on Monday, hosting UMBC for a 7 p.m. game at Carnesecca Arena. Justin Kutcher and Jim Spanarkel have the call for FS1. The St. John’s IMG Sports Network radio broadcast with John Minko and Brandon Tierney can be heard on 970 AM WNYM.
