St. John's wins their second straight with a win at home against DePaul, 86-78

St. John's (16-8, 5-6) needs to keep winning games and they notched another victory against DePaul, 86-78, Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena.

D'Angelo Harrison led the Johnnies with 33 points, 6 threes and 10 boards while Phil Greene added 18 points. Sir'Dominic Pointer, 15 points and 11 boards, contributed in multiple ways while Rysheed Jordan put up 15 points but only shot 2 for 9.

Chris Obekpa was inactive because of an ankle injury but Felix Balamou provided a solid spark in his second straight start and Amar Alibegovic, 2 points and 4 rebounds, continues to adapt to the college game.

In the first half, the Obekpa-less Johnnies dominated the rebounding line, yet they struggled to contain Tommy Hamilton IV inside offensively. DePaul remained close in the opening half due to their 12-10 advantage in the paint and their 11 bench points.

The Johnnies shot 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from downtown and supported a three point lead heading into the break.

Harrison was the difference in the game though. He has battled through numerous injuries the last couple of weeks but these past two games he has finally shown his strong rebounding ability and lift in his jump shot.

In the first match-up in Chicago, St. John's struggled to contain Billy Garrett Jr. He got to the foul line at ease and was in complete command of the game, especially in the overtime period. Even though Garrett scored 18 points, the Red Storm contained him to only 1 assist and held him to only 2 three balls.

The Johnnies were able to limit the Blue Demons' second leading scorer, Myke Henry, until garbage time, as he put up 13 points.

DePaul, like Creighton, tends to catch fire from the three-point line but the Johnnies used their five-guard lineup to switch everything and contest every jumper. DePaul shot only 36 percent from beyond the arc.

St. John's shot well in the first half but didn't let it slide in the second as they shot 52 percent from the field and 67 from three.

The Johnnies also pounded DePaul on the glass as they grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and out-rebounded them by 16 total boards.

Hamilton and Jamee Crockett added a combined 35 points for the Blue Demons but clearly wasn't enough to lead DePaul to a road victory.

The Johnnies will now focus on traveling to the Cintas Center on Saturday to face a very inconsistent but dangerous Xavier team.