The symmetry was fitting. The timing was apropos.
On the day St. John’s e♔qualed its best start in 36 years, Shamorie Ponds — the player most responsible for the Johnnies’ flawless 10-0 record — nearly wrote his name into the school’s record books in a dominant performance matching his continuing evolution as a player.
In Sunday’s comfortable 73-58 victory over Wagner at Carnesecca Arena, the junior guard nearly produced the progra🌼m’s first triple-do♛uble since Metta World Peace (then Ron Artest) did so on Jan. 9, 1999 against Seton Hall. Of the Red Storm’s 12 second-half field goals, he scored or assisted on 11 of them, owning the second half of what was a one-point game at the break.
The slick southpaw notched 16 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, keying a strong second half after a lackluster opening 20 minutes as St. John’s equaled its best start since the 1982-83 season. Ponds’ 14 assists tied him for fourth-most on the all-time St. John’s list in a single game, alongside Mark Jackson, Greg “Boo” Hꦆarvey, David Cain and Larry Jenkins. Even more impressively, he committed just one turnover despite have the ball in his capable hands most of the contest.
“Fourteen assists and one turnover to me is pretty incredible,” St. John’s coach Chris Mullin said. 🐷“Probably the most important thing is he obviously has the ability to really score the ball at a high level. But on nights when he’s not scorinཧg, he’s having a big influence on the game.
“That’s kind of a gift,” Mullin went on, referring to the high assist total. “Guys see the game or they don’t. Guys that get a🌟ssists like that, they see plays before they happen in somewhat slow motion.”
Ponds kick-started a dominant second half with his aggressiveness. When opportunities were there to score he took them, but mostly it was about his playmaking ability, creating easy shots for his teammates with dribble penetration, creative passes and unselfishness. LJ Figueroa led St. John’s with 19 points, Marvin🐻 Clark II added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Mustapha Heron had 10.
“He’s really been t💟rying to be more of a playmaker,” Clark said. “Because of that, heᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ’s making us better.”
“I’m just doing w👍h💎atever it takes to win,” Ponds said.
He fell 𒉰one rebound shy of the triple-double, taken out with 1:56 remaining, after the result was well in hanꦆd and the reserves were sent in. Some fans booed the decision by Mullin, who didn’t want to risk an injury. He did give Ponds a few minutes with the backups to grab the elusive board.
“I was trying to get it, but I also wasn’t trying to get hurt,” said Ponds, who joined Justin Simon (Dec. 20, 2017), Sir’Dominic Pointer (Dec. 8, 2013) and Nurideen Lindsey (Nov. 13, 2011) as recent St. John’s players who missed a triple-double by just a single rebound or assist. “It was coming to the end of the game, and the game was kind of over. So I was trying get i🦩t, but things happen.”
Mullin was a sophomore on the team that began 14-0 and we🍌nt on to reach the Big East Tournament final and win a game in the NCAA Tournament. This team has similar aspirations, which is why being the lone undefeated team not ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll doesn’t bother them. The Red Storm have bigger goals in mind.
“We want to be the hunters, not the hunted,” Clark s🙈aid. “We don’t mind being where we’re at. At the end of the day, we’re 10-0. That hasn’t been done since Coach Mullin was a player here.”
“It’s 🦂an ♛amazing feeling,” he added. “Let’s keep the train rolling.”