St. John’s defeated Wagner 66-45 on November 13, 2024, at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, New York. R.J. Luis led the team with 13 points, while Deivon Smith added 9 points and 8 rebounds. The Red Storm’s defense was dominant, forcing 17 turnovers.
Wagner’s top performers included Josiah Ezquerra with 10 points and 1 rebound, while Isaiah Greene pulled down 6 rebounds. Wagner shot poorly from the field, going 16-55 (29%), and struggled from beyond the arc, making just 5 of 24 three-point attempts.
Coach Rick Pitino commented after the game, “I’ve coached 50 years and a lot of times when you are playing a team that you’re supposed to beat and the game gets tight, the players get tight, and you win by a couple of points. This team didn’t play well offensively tonight because of the free-throw line. The free-throw line kept taking the air out of us because we would run good stuff, drive, get fouled, and then they missed free throws, which is like a turnover. That was the cause of us not playing well offensively. But I’m impressed, even though we’re much more talented than Wagner, players will get tight in this type of game because you’re supposed to win and everybody’s expecting it. And what happens? It’s a three-point game and you panic. Instead, they turned up the heat, made shots and they were very poised when it counted. I think the missed free throws really took the staunch out of us early on, but the defense was good most of the night.”
Looking ahead, St. John’s will face New Mexico at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, November 16.