Ponds explodes for 44 points as St. John’s defeats Marquette in season-defining loss

Brendan Ploen, Assistant Sports Editor • February 10, 2018

Photo by Austin Anderson

Markus Howard finished Saturday with 18 points, but St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds scored 44 to steal the show.

Coming into Saturday’s tilt against Marquette, St. John’s point guard Shamorie Ponds was one of the hottest players in college basketball. He put up 33 points last Saturday against No. 4 Duke and 26 Wednesday against No. 1 Villanova. Both led to stunning Red Storm victories.

He only got hotter against the Marquette Golden Eagles, putting up 44 points on the way to an 86-78 victory over Marquette at a sold-out Carnesecca Arena in Queens, New York.

Marquette only trailed by two at halftime, but St. John’s scored 52 points in the second half on an astounding 76.2 percent shooting. The Golden Eagles never led in the second half.

Marquette (14-11, 5-8 in BIG EAST) came out strong with 19 points from Andrew Rowsey in the first half on 5-of-13 shooting from the field, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Rowsey and sophomores Markus Howard and Sam Hauser were the only three scorers for Marquette in the half.

St. John’s (13-13, 2-11 in BIG EAST) countered with Ponds’ 17 points, Justin Simon’s six points and Marvin Clark II’s five points before intermission.

From the opening possession of the second half, St. John’s simply could not be stopped. Redshirt junior Tariq Owens scored the first five points of the half in 33 seconds. The Red Storm scored 18 points in the paint, seven points off turnovers and four on the fast break.

While Marquette tried to answer with 11 points from Hauser, 12 from Howard and 15 from Rowsey, it was not enough. Ponds was too much to contain, scoring 27 of his team’s 52 second-half points.

The Red Storm committed 15 turnovers, yet Marquette scored only 14 points off of them and could not muster enough timely baskets.

A key turning point came at the 8:09 mark after Sam Hauser hit a 3-pointer to get Marquette within four. Back-to-back threes from Ponds gave the Red Storm a 10-point lead and put the game away for good.

Junior Matt Heldt fouled out, finishing the afternoon with just two points. The Golden Eagles lost much of their edge after Heldt exited. Even as Rowsey fought to keep Marquette within range of the lead, Ponds again stole the show with an and-one at the 3:24 mark.

The Red Storm used just six players on the afternoon and did not have any bench scoring. It was nearly the same for the Golden Eagles, as they scored just two points coming off the bench. Redshirt sophomore Harry Froling missed both shot attempts and freshman Jamal Cain also finished scoreless.

The Golden Eagles once again put emphasis on the 3-point shot with 30 attempts from beyond the arc. Howard and Hauser each finished with 18 points. Meanwhile, Simon recorded his sixth double-double for St. John’s this season. Redshirt junior Marvin Clark flirted with a double-double, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds.

The Golden Eagles will have a week to prepare for a road matchup at Creighton. With the loss, Marquette remains in seventh place in the BIG EAST.

STAT OF THE DAY

Shamorie Ponds’ 44 points was a Carnesecca Arena record and the most points by a Red Storm player since Marcus Hatten put up 44 against Rutgers in 2003.