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Heading into today's game against the Hoosiers, St. John's was hoping to avoid further trouble in paradise following a yesterday's 93-55 rout at the hands of Vanderbilt.
In their second game on the island of Maui, the Johnnies faced off against the Hoosiers of Indiana who heading into this game were coming off an upset loss yesterday at the hands of Wake Forest.
With the Red Storm and Hoosiers suffering a loss in their first invitational games, both were looking to get back on track and, in the case of St. John's, looking to maybe to pull off the possible upset but also to continue building as a team with these games against tough opponents.
In the end, St. John's at times came close to pulling it off against the Hoosiers but it was Indiana who would win the day winning by a score of 83-73.
Despite the loss the Johnnies looked much better on the floor compared to their game against Vanderbilt, especially as Indiana at times looked a little shaky at times.
What went right for St. John's was an uptick in play come the second half as the first half featured rather sluggish play, as they were unable to come within 10 points of Indiana's lead in the first, but get it going in the second. Federico Mussini and Ron Mvouika were the main highlights for the Johnnies as they both way with a team leading 17 points each, and in the case of Mvouika was able to get hot on the foul line going 7-for-8 and 2-or-3 from beyond the 3-point line as well.
Mussini also lead the way with four steals, which allowed for St. John's to work in the transition, something that caught the Hoosiers off guard at times.
Another player who was solid for the Red Storm today was Felix Balamou. Balamou was the sixth man for St. John's coming off the bench for 14 points, four assists, and four rebounds. He did however commit three personal fouls which did limit his abilities, but was certainly effective for 27 minutes on the floor tonight.
Yankuba Sima also lead the way with another decent game on the boards with a team-leading seven rebounds, though was overmatched at times by the play of Thomas Bryant and Troy Williams, he also finished with nine points as well.
As a team St. John's shot 43.6 percent from all areas of the floor, 38.9 percent from 3-point range, and 66.7 percent from the foul line.
What worked well for Indiana was their offense today, as Yogi Farrell was electric in his attack on the basket finishing with 22 points and seven assists both team and game leading figures. His efforts were joined by Thomas Bryant's, who had 19 points, and James Blackmon, Jr. who had 12 points off the bench. Though in the case of Indiana's bench, IU saw production across the board as Troy Williams had 9 points and a game leading nine points.
While it was a loss for St. John's, it was a step in the right direction as they did look much better this game against a ranked opponent than they did yesterday. There were bright spots for the Johnnies and important takeaways for Chris Mullin to incorporate into their final game in Maui and going forward.