Jordan, Harrison lead St. John's past Fordham
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Rysheed Jordan and D'Angelo Harrison each delivered big scoring efforts to lead 24th-ranked St. John's to a 74-53 rout of Fordham at Madison Square Garden.
Jordan finished with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and Harrison went 8-of-11 from the field in a 22-point effort, with the duo producing the majority of the Red Storm's offensive output.
St. John's (8-1), which entered this week's Top 25 for the first time since 2011, has won four straight since a narrow loss to No. 9 Gonzaga on Nov. 28.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Eric Paschall paced Fordham (3-5) with 14 points, with Christian Sengfelder and Mandell Thomas each netting 11 in the loss.
The Red Storm trailed 19-13 nearing the midway mark of the first half following an 11-4 Fordham run, but held the Rams scoreless for nearly four minutes while putting up 11 straight points to grab a 24-19 lead with 7:55 to go in the opening period. Jordan had eight points during the surge.
"I thought Rysheed played with poise and made excellent choices. He played a near-perfect game," said Red Storm head coach Steve Lavin."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fordham kept it close as the break drew closer, moving within 30-28 on a Paschall dunk with under three minutes left in the half. St. John's finished out the frame on 9-0 flurry, however, to take an 11-point lead into the intermission.
A 15-0 sequence early in the second half enabled St. John's to pull away. Harrison deposited seven points during the spurt, with his successful jumper with 11:28 remaining staking the Red Storm to a comfortable 59-35 advantage.
"Coach (Lavin) stressed playing better defense in the second half," said Harrison. "We picked it up towards the end of first half, that's the style of basketball we play."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}St. John's maintained a lead of at least 21 points the rest of the way.
Game Notes
The game was part of the annual MSG Holiday Festival doubleheader, with Rutgers defeating Manhattan in the opener. St. John's improved to 71-38 all- time in the event ... The Red Storm scored 28 points off 20 Fordham turnovers ... St. John's has won the last four meetings between the New York City-based schools and is 27-3 in home games against the Rams.