Keisei Tominaga led NU with 15 points, but St. John’s used a pair of decisive runs early in the second half to post a 70-50 victory in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.
Tominaga hit 5-of-8 shots, including 3-of-6 3-pointers, but the Huskers shot just 29.7 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers that led to 21 Red Storm points.
David Jones scored all 15 of his points in the second half for St. John’s (4-0), while Joel Soriano (17 points, 18 rebounds) and Posh Alexander also finished in double figures for the winners.
Nebraska led 27-20 at the break, but St. John’s stormed out of the locker room and used a 14-3 spurt in the opening four minutes to take the 34-30 lead and force a Husker timeout. The Red Storm hit 6-of-8 to open the half and converted three turnovers into six points in the run. Nebraska cut the deficit to 38-33 on Tominaga’s second 3-pointer of the night, but Jones, who was held scoreless in the first half and battled foul trouble, hit consecutive 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 44-33 and force a Husker timeout with 11:37 left.
After the timeout, Denim Dawson and Sam Griesel combined for five points to cut the SJU lead to 11 at 8:28, but St. John’s pulled away and cruised to the 20-point victory.
The first half was a defensive clinic, as Nebraska held St. John’s to 20 points on 23.5 percent shooting in taking a 27-20 lead into the locker room. Neither team led by more than three points for the first 10 minutes until Nebraska used a 14-4 run over a five-minute span to turn an 8-all tie into a 22-12 advantage. The Huskers capped the run with seven straight points, the last points coming off a 3-pointer from C.J. Wilcher with 5:07 left in the half. St. John’s pulled within six with a 4-0 spurt, but Tominaga’s 3-pointer pushed the lead back to nine. Tominaga had eight points in the first half off the bench hitting all three of his shots.
The Huskers return to action this Sunday, Nov. 20, when they host Arkansas-Pine Bluff.