R.J. Luis posts another double-double in St. John’s men’s basketball win over Harvard

Luis recorded his third double-double of the season with a 24-point, 10-rebound outing on Saturday night

It wasn’t the satisfying bounce-back performance St. John’s wanted just six days removed from a frustrating trip to the Bahamas. Still, the Red Storm came away with a 77-64 win over Harvard on Saturday night behind another standout performance by R.J. Luis.

Luis tied a season-high of 24 points and pulled down ten rebounds to record his third triple-double of the season, surpassing the two he had last season.

Freshman Jaiden Glover saw an uptick in playing time after Deivon Smith did not play due to disciplinary reasons and seized the opportunity, scoring back-to-back threes to give St. John’s a 24-8 edge entering the first half under-eight-minute media timeout.

Fast forward to the end of the first half when Glover drilled his third triple of the half, firing from the left corner off his backfoot before the buzzer sounded to give St. John’s a 40-28 lead entering halftime. The sharpshooting freshman finished Saturday’s game with a career-high 11 points.

Even though Glover enjoyed a miniature shooting breakout, St. John’s long-range shooting woes continued from the Georgia loss. The Red Storm went 6-of-27 from three, despite the Crimson sagging off shooters in their zone defense.

Harvard were able to trim down a 46-28 second-half deficit to eight after an Evan Nelson layup with 4:27 remaining, but Kadary Richmond and R.J. Luis shut the door on any potential comeback.

Richmond showcased his slashing ability late in the game, rising to the basket to bring the lead back up to ten with 3:43 remaining. He would finish with 18 points, his most in a game as a Johnny, along with eight rebounds and four assists.

Out of the under-four-minute media timeout, Richmond delivered a gorgeous lob from the baseline to Luis for an alley-oop slam.

The Red Storm will have another six-day break before they return to the hardwood on Saturday, December 7, when they face Kansas State at Carnesecca Arena as part of the final Big East-Big XII Battle (11:30 a.m., FOX).