St. John's Beats DePaul 79-72
NEW YORK (AP) — D'Angelo Harrison scored 23 points and Amir Garrett added a season-high 18 to lead St. John's to a 79-72 victory over DePaul on Monday night and a season sweep of the regular-season series.
Moe Harkless added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Storm (12-16, 5-10 Big East), who have won two straight after losing four in a row. They move into sole possession of 11th place in the 16-team conference.
Cleveland Melvin had 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the Blue Demons (11-16, 2-13), who have lost seven straight and 12 of 13.
St. John's had two field goals — the second with 10 seconds left — over the final 4:46 but the Red Storm went 10 for 12 from the free throw line over that span to hold off DePaul, which stayed within six points until the final basket.
The Red Storm came into the game shooting 68.3 percent from the line.
Brandon Young added 17 points and Jamee Crockett had 15 but he was 1 for 11 from 3-point range. The Blue Demons, who came in shooting 34.1 percent from beyond the arc, finished 6 of 31 (19.4 percent).
St. John's which came in last in the conference in 3-point shooting at 27.9 percent, finished 4 for 11 (36.4 percent).
Garrett's previous high was 12 points in the first game against the Blue Demons. He came in averaging 6.2 points. Garrett, a 6-foot-6 left-hander from Los Angeles whose fastball has been clocked at 96 mph, was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 22nd round in June. He signed a contract with a $1 million signing bonus in August and will begin his professional baseball career this summer.
St. John's starting lineup of five freshmen — the Fresh Five — improved their record to 4-4.
This was the last game of the season at on-campus Carnesecca Arena where the Red Storm went 7-1. They have one game left at Madison Square Garden — No. 20 Notre Dame on Saturday — where they are 3-7 this season.
The St. John's coaching staff wore blue bow ties as part of On The Line "Statement Week," an effort to raise awareness for prostate cancer. St. John's coach Steve Lavin underwent prostate cancer surgery on Oct. 6. He coached four games in November before being told by doctors to follow a modified schedule that keeps him off the bench but allows him to attend some practices and recruit.
St. John's leads the all-time series 15-14.
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