St. John’s Defeats WVU 79-73 in Big East-Big 12 Battle

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In the Big East-Big 12 Battle, St. John’s outlasted West Virginia 79-73 on Friday night.

SJU (5-2) G Nahiem Alleyne hit a big three-pointer with just 20 seconds left in the game.

West Virginia (3-4) stayed in the game against St. John’s by attempting 43 free throws. The Mountaineers didn’t capitalize on all of their attempts, shooting 31-of-43 from the line.

WVU F Quinn Slazinski didn’t wait to start scoring against St. John’s. Slazinski and Josiah Harris helped get West Virginia’s offense to a fast start. Eventually, the hot hand from both WVU and St. John’s went cold as the game did not see a field goal made for nearly five minutes in the first half.

Slazinski played against his once-committed school in St. John’s. During the week, Slazinski mentioned that he had this game circled on his calendar for a long time, but was looking forward to seeing his former coaches and teammates. Slazinski finished with 19 points and seven rebounds.

SJU big man Joel Soriano had himself a game against West Virginia. Soriano was a problem in the paint on both ends of the floor. SJU F Chris Ledlum had a double-double against the Mountaineers. Soriano and Ledlum helped get West Virginia center Jesse Edwards into foul trouble throughout the game. Edwards finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks as he fouled out of the game with 2:27 left.

While Edwards sat on the bench, backup forward Patrick Suemnick checked into the game and made some gritty plays to give WVU extra possessions.

St. John’s HC Rick Pitino made his return to the WVU Coliseum for the first time since 2012.

WVU F Akok Akok (health) remained out against St. John’s as he awaits to hear from opinions from doctors. Akok has been sidelined since collapsing in the second half of the George Mason exhibition in late-October. RaeQuan Battle, who is potentially seeking legal action against the NCAA, was also out on Friday.

Former WVU HC Bob Huggins was in attendance for Friday’s game. Huggins has made his fair share of appearances at Mountaineer home games so far this season.

West Virginia will have a few days off before hosting Pitt for the 192nd Backyard Brawl next Wednesday. The Mountaineers and Panthers will tipoff at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.