St. John's vs. Chaminade (7th Place Game)
When: November 25, 2015, 2:30 p.m. ET
Where: Maui Invitational, Maui, Hawaii at the Lahaina Civic Center
How to Watch: ESPNU
How to Listen: 970 WNYM
After getting destroyed by 19th ranked Vanderbilt in the first round of this high-quality preseason tournament, St. John's put up a strong fight Tuesday against a very talented offensive team in the 13th ranked Indiana Hoosiers. Chris Mullin's unit limited turnovers in the 2nd half, buckled up on the other end of the floor and scored with ease against the Hoosiers shaky defense. And while they didn't come out with a victory, it was certainly a step in the right direction as they continue to use these match-ups as learning experiences.
Federico Mussini and Ron Mvouika both scored 17 points while Yankuba Sima (nine points and seven boards) was effective in the paint along with Balamou (12 points), who showed a tremendous ability to slash and create a shot at the rim with his leaping ability.
Now, the Red Storm can build on their recent performance against the host, Chaminade (they were dominated by Kansas and UNLV), in the 7th place game.
Scouting Chaminade
Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Chaminade Silverswords are a Division II member (Pacific West Conference) with a current 0-4 record. They were defeated by Alaska Anchorage, Alaska, Kansas (123 to 72) and UNLV (93 to 73).
While they are the only non-Division I team that competes yearly in the Maui Invitational, the Silverswords can create a problem for opponents on their home grounds as they knocked off Texas in the opening round back in 2012.
The team, led by head coach Eric Bovaird, has three seniors on their roster while also relying on junior Goodwin Rohndell, who is averaging almost 17 points per game. Chaminade also has three other players who are averaging in double figures and receive heavy production on the glass from junior Kuany Kuany (averaging a double-double with 10.8 rebounds per game).
Scoring 84.3 points per game is an impressive statistic but the Silverswords defense is basically non-existent. They give up 105 (!) points per game and have let their opponents shoot 51 percent from the field.
Keys to the Game
St. John's won't be favored in many games this year but this is a match-up they must take advantage of. If the Johnnies come out of the gate with energy and aggressiveness as they did on Tuesday in the second half, they should head back to Queens feeling good about where they stand early in this new season.
They must maintain their spacing offensively, attack the basket, limit turnovers and keep their discipline defensively. Chaminade is also a very small team (with their biggest player standing at 6'7") so don't be surprised to see Sima have a monster game on the boards.