Holy Cross seeks another Big East victim at St. John's

St. John's has alternated wins and losses over its first five games — a trend the Red Storm hope to end Saturday when they welcome Holy Cross to New York.

The Red Storm (3-2) are coming off a 91-82 victory against Utah in the third-place game of the Charleston Classic on Sunday. Daniss Jenkins scored 19 points and Jordan Dingle added 18 for St. John's, which shot 53 percent from the floor and knocked down half of its 26 attempts from long range.

"I think they all took good shots. They pushed the pace. They didn't let the pace get away," first-year St. John's coach Rick Pitino said. "Will we (regularly) shoot 53 percent (from the field) and 50 percent from the three? No. Will we get better defensively and run offense like we did tonight? Yes. That was a shooting display and these guys are responsible for that."

Dingle, a transfer from Penn, made four 3-pointers, as did Harvard transfer Chris Ledlum.

"It's only going to keep growing for all of us from here," Dingle said.

Holy Cross (2-4) already has taken down one Big East foe this season, having knocked off Georgetown on the road, 68-67, earlier this month. The Crusaders dropped three in a row after that victory, although they got back into the win column Sunday with a 74-61 triumph over IUPUI.

Joe Octave scored 22 points, while Bo Montgomery chipped in 12 points and five assists. The Crusaders' seniors recently earned the praise of coach Dave Paulsen following the upset win over Georgetown.

"These guys have worked their rear ends off, and they have been coachable," Paulsen said after defeating the Hoyas. "They have let me coach them hard, and they have been responsive. (Montgomery and Octave) have led the way, not only in their work ethic, but also in being held accountable."

St. John's leads the all-time series 26-7, although the teams haven't met in more than a decade.

—Field Level Media