LAS VEGAS — It was a forgettable afternoon for St. John’s high-upside sophomores Ian Jackson and Joson Sanon.
In the 14th-ranked Johnnies’ frustrating 83-82 loss to No. 15 Iowa State in the Players Era Festival, the duo combined to shoot 4-of-16 from the field without a single rebound.
Sanon, who got the start, was 2-of-10 from the field and St. John’s was outscored by 13 points in his 27 minutes.
Jackson came off the bench and was limited to five points.
Coach Rick Pitino’s focus was more on their lack of rebounding.
“I don’t look at what individuals do when they give great effort. Both Joson and Ian give great effort,” Pitino said. “I give the other team credit for playing good defense on them. The rebounding, they’ve got to do a better job of, obviously.”
The hope was that Jackson was hitting his stride after scoring 20 points in a recent blowout of Bucknell.
But The Bronx native committed two early turnovers and never found a rhythm.
Oziyah Sellers hit five 3-pointers in six attempts in the loss, but it was one that he didn’t take that stuck with Pitino.
St. John’s was trailing by one with 30 seconds left when Sellers missed a driving shot in the lane.
“I wanted him to shoot the 3. He was open and he took a tough 2,” Pitino said. “He’s open, we want him to get more 3s up. He’s open for a glimpse and you got to shoot the ball. Instead, he goes into [traffic]. It’s something that’s a weakness on his part right now because we need him to shoot 3s.”
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St. John’s has dropped five straight games against ranked opponents in nonconference action, three of them with Pitino as coach.
The Johnnies’ last nonconference victory over a ranked foe came in 2019 against Arizona.
