News Articles on Last Night's Game

New York Post (Lenn Robbins):

The only thing St. John's lost last night was a tooth.

Sophomore Larry Wright would have pumped in more than the 16 he did in a 76-49 rout of Sacred Heart in Carnesecca Arena were it not for the front tooth he lost to an accidental elbow.

The Red Storm (2-0) took a 10-0 lead and never lost it. St. John's never lost its intensity, which was a problem that plagued it last season.

Today the team will not lose the meaning of the university's mission when it serves Thanksgiving Day dinner to some 1,200 less fortunate at the St. John's Bread and Life Soup Kitchen in Brooklyn.

"It will probably be the best day they have," said St. John's coach Norm Roberts.

It won't be great for Wright, who will have to pay a visit to the dentist. It won't be great for center Tomas Jasiulionis, who took a knee to the knee that exacerbated tendinitis, and he sat the last 18 minutes and 16 seconds....

Burrell posted his first double-double (15 points, 11 boards) but he must break the habit of lobbying for calls.

"Coach Q [Fred Quartlebaum] and Coach Roberts told me I don't want to get a reputation," said Burrell, who along with the other six freshmen accounted for 41 points and 34 boards.

Senior Eugene Lawrence had a team-high 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field to go along with eight assists and two turnovers. Lawrence has 13 assists and no turnovers in two games.... Roberts said he didn't think Jasiulionis' injury was serious, but that was the initial call on Mason, too.

Mason's injury already has proven to be more problematic than initially assumed.

"You could say that," said Roberts. "High ankle sprains can be hard to get back from quickly. He's responding to treatment, so that's good. It gives everyone else a chance to step up."

NY Daily News (Roger Rubin):

This time there would be no last-minute scare. No crisis of confidence, no late scoring drought and no mistake-prone stretch either. St. John's was everything it is supposed to be last night.

Larry Wright made a pair of three-pointers as the Red Storm opened against Sacred Heart with 10 unanswered points in the first two minutes and then overpowered the Pioneers for a 76-49 win before 3,403 at Carnesecca Arena.

The game played out pretty much exactly as it should when a Big East team takes on a mid-to-low major. The Storm was clearly a cut above in every aspect of the game.

"Larry kind of got me excited when he came out," said senior Eugene Lawrence who finished with 17 points on 5-for-5 shooting and eight assists. "He made a big steal, he hit two big shots. He kind of set the tone for this....It was a good win for us."....

In the second half, St. John's never allowed Sacred Heart closer than 22 and got the lead as big as 76-44 on a jumper by Mike Cavataio with 1:21 to play. At the end, Roberts had played each of his 12 scholarship players at least 10 minutes.

New York Newsday/ AMNY (Joseph Staszewski):

As Wright's shooting helped St. John's control the game early, Burrell's play in the paint did so for the rest of the half. The highly touted newcomer almost had a double-double (10 points, eight rebounds) before the halftime buzzer. Lawrence found him for an easy lay-in for a 48-21 lead at the half. That may have been Burrell's easiest basket. His 6-8 frame moved through packs of Sacred Heart defenders to grab rebounds for putbacks.

The Red Storm tried to work the ball inside to Dele Coker and Burrell to start the second half, but started just 1-for-6 from the field. Then Wright made two free throws and a beautiful reverse layup, and Lawrence hit a three from the left side to put St. John's back up 25 with 12:55 left. Burrell was not as sharp in the second half, missing his first five shots.