{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
St. John's 77, Butler 52
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials: # Pat Driscoll, # Gary Prager, # Wally Rutecki
Attendance: 7002

St. John's 77, Butler 52:
JaKarr Sampson scored a career-high 23 points and the host Red Storm used a 20-0 run to roll to their sixth consecutive victory.

Jamal Branch added 10 points and Orlando Sanchez added seven and 11 rebounds in place of injured center Chris Obekpa as St. John's (18-9, 8-6 Big East) rode a dominant second half to its ninth win in 10 games and a season sweep of Butler.

Khyle Marshall had 16 points and seven rebounds - all in the first half - for the Bulldogs (12-14, 2-12), who tumbled to their fifth straight defeat. Kellen Dunham had 13 points and Alex Barlow chipped in 11 for Butler, which led by three points at halftime but shot 7-for-36 after the break.

A follow-up dunk by Marshall at the halftime buzzer sent the Bulldogs into the locker room holding a 33-30 edge, but the Red Storm opened the second half with a 14-2 burst to open a 44-35 lead on Sanchez's 3-point play with 14:21 remaining. The Bulldogs missed nine of their first 10 shots after intermission to allow the Red Storm to seize control.

Barlow's four-point play briefly stemmed the momentum and cut the deficit to five points, but Branch buried a 3-pointer to push the lead to 53-43 and ignite a run of 20 unanswered points. Sampson scored eight points during the decisive spurt as St. John's held the Bulldogs scoreless for more than 8 1/2 minutes.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Obekpa, who leads the Big East with 3.2 blocks per game, suffered a sprained right ankle and bone bruise in Monday's practice and is expected to be sidelined 10-14 days. ... Barlow reached doubled figures in a season-high three straight games and is averaging 11.7 points in that span. ... Sampson also grabbed eight rebounds to help St. John's dominate the glass 51-30.
Top Game Performances
 
Butler   St. John's
Khyle Marshall 16 Scoring Jakarr Sampson 23
Jackson Aldridge 2 Assists Jamal Branch 5
Andrew Chrabascz 7 Rebounds Orlando Sanchez 11
Khyle Marshall 4 Free Throws Made Orlando Sanchez 5
Alex Barlow 2 Steals D'Angelo Harrison 3
Alex Barlow 1 Blocks Jamal Branch 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Butler 52 31.7 4-22 10-21 8 27 4 6 9
St. John's 77 48.3 5-12 16-21 13 43 4 8 14