Rasheem Dunn scored 14 points and added three steals and three assists to lead St. John's in an 82-63 rout of Columbia on Wednesday in Queens.
The Red Storm (4-1) went on an 11-0 run early in the contest to break a 4-4 tie, then led by double-digits for much of the rest of the way. The lead swelled to 22 points by halftime, with Dunn's variety of field goals and perfect foul shooting setting the pace.
Columbia (1-4) went on a 9-2 run in the early second half, with Mike Smith scoring two baskets before a Jake Killingsworth 3-pointer. The brief burst pulled the Lions within 15 points, which was as close as they came for the rest of the night.
Julian Champagnie went on a tear in the ensuing minute-and-change, scoring nine consecutive points. He made a jumper, a bucket in the lane, finished his own steal with a fast-break alley-oop from Dunn, then finished the outburst with a 3-pointer.
That spell keyed a decisive, 17-2 run that spanned almost five minutes. Columbia cut into the deficit after the burst behind Smith's game-high 20 points, outscoring St. John's 23-12 in the final 12 minutes. But the 30-point deficit was too great to overcome.
Champagnie scored 14, and Dunn keyed a 38-point effort from the St. John's bench. Mustapha Heron also scored in double figures with 15 points.
St. John's pushed the tempo both from 18 Columbia turnovers -- scoring 23 points off takeaways -- and transitioning quickly off rebounds. The Red Storm dominated on the glass, 48-38, and pushed on outlets to generate 22 fast-break points.
Tai Bibbs and Killingsworth joined Smith in double-figure scoring with 10 and 11 points, respectively. Bibbs grabbed six rebounds, while Smith had a team-high nine. Maka Ellis scored seven points with six rebounds.
David Caraher scored nine points for St. John's. Josh Roberts pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the Red Storm.
--Field Level Media
