Providence Friars vs St. John's Red Storm Box Score on Feb 12, 2020

L.J. Figueroa had 19 points and St. John's won at home for the first time in more than a month in an 80-69 win over visiting Providence on Wednesday night in Queens, N.Y.

Figueroa was 6 of 14 from the field and hit four 3-pointers while also recording four of the Red Storm's 12 steals, helping them score 22 points off 24 Providence turnovers.

St. John's (14-11, 3-9 Big East) snapped a three-game skid and improved to 9-2 at the on-campus Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm hadn't played there since Dec. 31 and had not won either there or Madison Square Garden since Jan. 11 against DePaul, losing their past three home games.

Playing without senior guard Mustapha Heron, who sat out with a right ankle injury and could be done for the season, the Red Storm led by eight at the half and extended that to a 45-32 advantage with 16:21 to go when their aggressiveness got the better of them.

A pair of hook-and-hold flagrant fouls on David Caraher and Marcellus Earlington -- with a technical on St. John's coach Mike Anderson -- in a 55-second span allowed Providence (13-12, 6-6) to chip away.

The Friars made 3 of 6 free throws along with a layup during that time frame, then a 3-pointer by Alpha Diallo -- who had 19 points and a career-high 17 rebounds -- cut the deficit to 51-47 with 11:45 to go. But Providence only made one basket in the next four minutes as St. John's rebuilt the double-digit lead.

A 3-pointer by Figueroa and then a technical on Providence coach Ed Cooley (with Figueroa making 1 of 2 foul shots) made it 69-54 with 4:54 left. A 7-0 Friars run got them within 74-68 with 1:06 remaining but St. John's made 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to hold on.

Three other Red Storm players scored in double figures, with freshman Julian Champagnie recording 14 points and seven rebounds, Rasheem Dunn scoring 13 points and Earlington adding 12.

A.J. Reed and David Duke each scored 12 points for Providence, which returns home to face No. 10 Seton Hall on Saturday. St. John's is off for the rest of the week and won't be back in action until Monday, when it hosts Xavier.

--Field Level Media