Matadors Drop Hard-Fought Decision to St. John's, 76-70

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QUEENS, NY---

CSUN Men's Basketball (3-6) dropped a back-and-forth contest to St. John's, 76-70, on Monday evening at Carnesecca Arena. Darin Johnson led CSUN in scoring with 16 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists. Rakim Lubin scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds while Kendall Smith and Tavrion Dawson added 10 points apiece.

"I felt we made mistakes down the stretch," said head coach Reggie Theus. "We had three turnovers when the game was right on the line. I thought that was critical. But I liked the effort that our guys played with. We had a tough travel. They came out and battled, and gave themselves a chance to win the game. It's part of our growth. To win games on the road, you got to make plays down the stretch and tonight we didn't make the plays."

In a game that could have gone either way, the Matadors and Red Storm exchanged 15 leads and battled in a contest with seven ties. Playing in a game of runs, St. John's executed the final run of the game to pull off the six-point win.

Traveling across the country and competing in a game less than 48 hours removed from a win at home, the Matadors played St. John's in a close battle over 40 minutes of action.

The teams traded baskets and runs in the first half. CSUN took a four-point lead, 20-16, with 8:32 remaining following a 10-5 run as Smith scored four during the stretch.

The Red Storm answered back with strong outside shooting. Knocking down seven 3-pointers in the first period, St. John's built a nine-point lead late with 2:08 on the clock. Scoring all 12 of his points in the first half, Federico Mussini hit 4-of-4 from 3-point land to keep his team in front.

Balanced scoring allowed CSUN to remain within striking distance in the first half as Smith scored eight and the tandem of Johnson and Micheal Warren each scored seven. A 7-2 run capped off by a 4-point play from Warren near halftime made it 40-36 heading into the break.

Falling behind by seven after a layup from Shamorie Ponds, the Matadors again fought back into the game with a 7-0 run as a free throw from Johnson squared the game at 47-47.

St. John's responded with an 8-0 run of its own to reclaim the lead. A 3-pointer from Ponds, that banked off the glass made it 55-47 with 12:20 remaining.

CSUN would not go away, however, as a 10-3 run over a 3:07 span cut the lead to three. Another 5-0 outbrust capped off by a three-point play by Aaron Parks gave the Matadors their first lead of the second half at 62-61 at the 6:51 mark.

Unfortunately for the Matadors, they would be unable to extend their lead. Five-straight empty trips allowed St. John's to pull off a 7-0 run.

A jumper from Lubin and a slam dunk from Dawson brought CSUN to within 72-70 but the Matadors would not get any closer. Missed 3-pointers from Parks and Jerron Wilbut in the final minute coupled with made free throws on the other end sealed the six-point victory for St. John's.

The Matadors finished shooting 44.6 percent from the field including 48.2 in the second half while the Red Storm shot 43.9 percent for the game. St. John's knocked down 10-of-21 3-pointers for the night while CSUN shot 16-of-24 from the foul line (75.0 percent). The Matadors held a 46-28 edge in points in the paint.

For CSUN, Parks scored eight points in the game and recorded a game-high four steals. In 18 minutes, Dylan Johns posted three blocks to go along with six points. Ponds led St. John's in scoring with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting.

The Matadors return back home for a Saturday evening contest against Loyola Marymount. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at The Matadome.

Matadors Drop Hard-Fought Decision to St. John's, 76-70

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Team Stats

Darin Johnson

Rakim Lubin

Kendall Smith

Tavrion Dawson

Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Dylan Johns

Darin Johnson

Rakim Lubin

Aaron Parks

Kendall Smith

Micheal Warren

Jerron Wilbut