Posh Alexander returned home and saw how much things have changed.
New St. John’s players, new coach and a team that hardly resembled his former one.
Alexander, St. John’s three-year starting point guard who transferred to Butler following the coaching change, received a warm greeting from the Red Storm fans.
The Johnnies players weren’t as kind.
They shut down Alexander after halftime and overwhelmed Butler as St. John’s continued to show progress under Rick Pitino. Daniss Jenkins, not Alexander, was the best point guard on the floor Tuesday night, leading the Johnnies to a commanding 86-70 victory inside Carnesecca Arena.
St. John’s (10-4, 2-1) held Butler to 32.3 percent shooting in the second half and had six players score in double figures, led by Jenkins who had 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Joel Soriano (12 rebounds) and RJ Luis each had 14 points and freshman Brady Dunlap scored a season-high 13.
Questionable with a sprained ankle, Chris Ledlum not only played but notched a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, helping St. John’s win the battle on the glass by 11 and outscore Butler by 16 in second-chance points.
Alexander scored all 11 of his points in the first half and shot 5-for-12 from the field along with three turnovers. DJ Davis led Butler (10-4, 1-2) with 25 points.
The Bulldogs’ leading scorers, Pierre Brooks and Jahmyl Telford, were held to 20 combined points on 5 of 20 shooting.
It was an entertaining first 20 minutes that the Johnnies mostly controlled.
They led by as many as eight and never trailed.
The big surprise was Dunlap, who entered the game with 18 points on the season and scored 10 in the first half. He looked more confident than he had been all season, reacting instead of overthinking.
Jenkins was also sharp, notching 10 points, four assists and zero turnovers in the first half, while Soriano had eight points and seven rebounds.
He put an exclamation mark on the half with a spinning move along the baseline and emphatic dunk to send St. John’s into the break up seven.
In pregame introductions, Alexander received a warm ovation. He then had a strong first half, scoring 11 points.
Late in the half, St. John’s fans began to boo Alexander, and Soriano rejected his shot.
He had been doing a lot of talking to the Johnnies’ bench.
Butler came out of the locker room hot from deep to start the second half and quickly got within three.
Similar to the first half, whenever the Bulldogs got close, St. John’s had a response and pushed the lead to a game-high 10 on a coast-to-coast driving layup from Jenkins.
The lead was 12 after another Dunlap 3-pointer, but then St. John’s began shooting itself in the foot.
Turnovers on three consecutive possessions enabled Butler to slice the deficit in half, leading to a Pitino timeout with 12:48 left.
Butler had multiple opportunities to get closer, but couldn’t convert.
Luis, meanwhile, took the opportunity to take over. He scored on a spinning lefty finger roll, then came up with a steal and scored in transition again.
By the next media timeout, St. John’s was firmly in control, up 13, and the result was no longer in doubt.