St. John’s men’s basketball wins ugly rock fight against Towson in final exhibition of preseason

Rick Pitino used all but one scholarship player, with the reserves getting extended reps in the final dress rehearsal of the preseason

St. John’s had one more dress rehearsal before officially tipping off their 2024-25 men’s basketball season in less than two weeks against Fordham.

Their opponent on Saturday wasn’t a typical soft serve preseason foe. The Towson Tigers were voted first in the CAA preseason coaches poll and are considered one of the better mid-majors in the country.

Still, the Red Storm overmatched Towson in an unglamorous slugfest, winning 64-46 in a fashion that defied last Thursday’s high-flying 91-85 exhibition win against Rutgers.

What there was to love on Saturday was the Red Storm’s suffocating defense, forcing Towson to shoot 28.8 percent from the field (17-of-59), 21.7 percent from three (5-of-23), and give up 25 turnovers. Tyler Tejada was the only Tiger to score in double figures, with 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Towson last led with 17:32 remaining in the first half, then St. John’s never looked back.

The offensive production was not so delightful. St. John’s shot 39.6 percent from the field and were only a skosh better from three by shooting 22.7 from three (5-of-22).

More concerning were the free throw shooting numbers. St. John’s only made 65 percent of their trips to the free throw line on Saturday (17-of-26). For comparison, St. John’s shot 64 percent (22-of-34) in their exhibition win over Rutgers.

Offensive rebounding was also not ideal, with a much smaller Towson team outrebounding the Red Storm, 39 to 37. The Tigers recorded 16 offensive rebounds despite having only three players taller than 6-foot-7 on their roster.

Aside from grinding out Towson, the secondary objective from Saturday’s game was to see what each player in the rotation had. Every scholarship player but Khaman Maker (who did not play and is a potential redshirt candidate) recorded between nine to 24 minutes of action and entered the scoring column. Confirmed starters Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor only played 15 minutes each and combined for seven points.

There wasn’t a player or players of the game with a bullet point, but some players stood out in their playing time. Aaron Scott and R.J. Luis led the Red Storm with 11 points apiece, with Scott drilling three triples on four attempts. Luis also picked up eight rebounds and nabbed four of the Red Storm’s 13 total steals. Vince Iwuchukwu scored 8 points on 3-of-5 shooting and made both of his free throw attempts as he made the start at center. Zuby Ejiofor, while only recording five points, tallied three blocks in his short time on the floor.

You can view the box score for the game here.