By Martin Sadongdong
St. John's Red Storm bombarded No. 10 Creighton Bluejays with 14 three-pointers en route to a 91-71 blowout win in US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's basketball held at the Carnesecca Arena on Monday (Philippine Standard Time).
In this file photo, Justin Moore #5 of the Villanova Wildcats drives to the basket against Greg Williams Jr. #4 of the St. John's Red Storm in the second half at Finneran Pavilion on February 26, 2020 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Mitchell Leff / Getty Images / AFP, File)
The Red Storm banked on the hot hands of shooting guard Greg Williams Jr. who finished with a career-high 21 points, all earned from beyond the arc.
It was a close battle with Creighton still leading at the 12:41 mark in the second half 56-54 when guard Nick Rutherford sank a three-pointer to give St. John's a one-point lead.
Williams scored four consecutive threes while guard LJ Figueroa added two more and the Red Storm's lead swelled to 81-64 with 5:19 to play.
The Red Storm were dominant in the three-point category with 63.6 percent efficiency (14/22) compared to the Blue Jays' 14.8 percent (4/27).
It was a sorry loss for Creighton who could have captured their first Big East championship with a win over St. John's and its two remaining games of the season. The Blue Jays fell to 22-7 overall record and 11-5 in the Big East conference while the Red Storm improved to 15-14.
Meanwhile, forward Jordan Nwora took over in the second half as the No. 11 Louisville Cardinals soared over the Virginia Tech Hokies 68-52.
Nwora topscored for the Cardinals with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Ryan McMahon contributed 10 points.
In other games, the No 23. Ohio State Buckeyes overpowered the No. 19 Michigan Wolverines 77-63; the No. 25 Houston Cougars slew the Cincinnati Bearcats 68-55; and the Stanford Cardinals ruled over the No. 21 Colorado Buffaloes 72-64.