St. John’s University Faces Heartbreaking Loss at Players Era Festival

LAS VEGAS — It was quite a memorable afternoon for St. John’s University sophomores Ian Jackson and Joeson Sanon.

During the Players Era Festival, the 14th-ranked Johnnies came up just short with an 83-82 defeat to 15th-ranked Iowa State. The pair struggled, combining for just four makes on 16 attempts and notably failing to grab any rebounds.

Sanon, who started the game, connected on only 2 of 10 shots, while St. John’s fell behind by 13 points within the first 27 minutes. Jackson entered off the bench and managed to score only five points.

Head coach Rick Pitino pointed out their significant rebounding issues.

“I don’t concern myself with individual performances when there’s effort involved. Both Johnson and Ian showed effort,” Pitino remarked. “The other team deserves credit for their defensive play. Clearly, we need to improve our rebounding.”

There were some high hopes for Jackson after he recently scored 20 points in a game against Bucknell, suggesting he was starting to reach his potential. Yet the Bronx native struggled early, committing two turnovers and failing to find his flow.

Oziyah Sellers performed well, hitting five of six from beyond the arc, though one shot ricocheted off Pitino. St. John’s was down by one point when Sellers missed a driving attempt with 30 seconds remaining.

“I wanted him to hit a three-pointer. He was wide open and chose a difficult two instead,” Pitino noted. “He has to shoot more threes when he gets the chance. I mean, he’s got to.”

Unfortunately, St. John’s has now lost five consecutive non-conference games against ranked teams, with three of those under Pitino’s leadership. The last time the Johnnies managed to defeat a higher-ranked opponent in non-conference play dates back to 2019, when they took down Arizona.