Cannady Scores 18, Llewellyn Posts Strong Debut at MSG vs. St. John's

Sunday, December 9

New York, N.Y. (MSG)

1:00 PM

Princeton University

St. John's

Princeton

St. John's

Devin Cannady had 18 points to lead Princeton at Madison Square Garden.

Photo by: Patrick Tewey

Cannady Scores 18, Llewellyn Posts Strong Debut at MSG vs. St. John's

December 09, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Playing their first game at Madison Square Garden since 2000, the Princeton men's basketball team made their runs against a St. John's team high up in the receiving-votes column in both national polls, but the unbeaten Red Storm remained that way, winning 89-74 Sunday afternoon at the World's Most Famous Arena to close the Holiday Festival.

Despite the loss, the experience was memorable for the Tigers.

"It was just amazing," senior Devin Cannady said. "When you think of the best arenas to play in, or you dream of playing in places, MSG is on the top of the list."

Rookie Jaelin Llewellyn made his collegiate debut Sunday after battling injury and illness through Princeton's first seven games, and his debut was a memorable one with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting overall, 3 of 7 from 3-point range and four assists.

Llewellyn was one of four Tigers in double figures with Cannady leading the way with 18 points, Richmond Aririguzoh adding 14 and Jose Morales 13.

"I've just been waiting for this moment for the whole season, so I've been really excited to get out there," Llewellyn said of his collegiate debut. "It was just a really cool experience for me in general."

St. John's went on a 15-2 run to turn a 22-19 Tiger lead into a 34-24 lead of its own with six-and-a-half minutes to go in the half, but the Tigers were able to put together a 12-3 run to pull even at 38-38 on the way to a 41-38 St. John's lead at the break.

Cannady had 15 of his 18 points in the first half, draining 5 of 7 tries from beyond the arc.

The Tigers were within a point at 49-48 still with 16 minutes to go in the game, but St. John's broke it open with a 15-2 run that allowed the Red Storm to get out to a 64-50 lead four-and-a-half minutes later.

3:39 2nd | St. John's 80, Princeton 74
Jaelin Llewellyn with the dunk! It's now a six-point game on FS1. Watch here: https://t.co/bWrho79XWH pic.twitter.com/SXoINiSM2D
— Princeton Basketball (@Princeton_Hoops) December 9, 2018

Princeton had one final run, a 15-3 stretch that allowed the Tigers to claw back from an 18-point deficit at 77-59 with seven-plus minutes to go to make it a six-point game at 80-74 four minutes later. The Red Storm, though, capped it there and closed out the win.

Princeton committed 20 turnovers in the loss, a stat that led to 21 St. John's points. Princeton had 16 points off the Red Storm's 14 turnovers.

"We just have to take care of the ball, and once we do that, we can have a better assessment of ourselves, but I think with Jaelin back, we can come off ball screens, have a lot of player movement, and I think we're more solid on defense with (Jaelin)," Cannady said.

Postgame Notes

• This was the first meeting between Princeton and St. John's since 1982. The Red Storm now leads the series 11-6.

• Devin Cannady moved closer to eighth on Princeton's all-time scoring list and second on the program's career 3-pointers list. His 1,351 points are 14 back of Bob Scrabis '89 for eighth and his 247 3s are 29 back of Douglas Davis '12 for second. Myles Stephens moved up one spot on the scoring list to 22nd at 1,089.

• Junior Richmond Aririguzoh matched his career scoring best with 14 points. He had 14 last time out against Saint Joseph's.

• Junior Jose Morales scored 13 points for a third consecutive game, matching his career best. Henderson on Aririguzoh and Morales: "(Aririguzoh is) consistently good now and we need that. I love the way he's playing, and Jose – I know what these guys can do. I thought that's been a terrific development for us."

• Rookie Jaelin Llewellyn's 17 points were the most in a Tiger debut since Devin Cannady had 17 against Rider in the 2015-16 opener.

With the Tigers' next game Saturday in Atlantic City, enjoy some more top plays from the game at @TheGarden today. First, some defense leading to offense... pic.twitter.com/J3ucM5zhrd
— Princeton Basketball (@Princeton_Hoops) December 9, 2018

'My goodness' indeed. The white line's all he needed, but the blue one works too for #DC3. pic.twitter.com/003jycOVN8
— Princeton Basketball (@Princeton_Hoops) December 9, 2018

'This kid looks like he is gonna be special.' Jaelin Llewellyn, in his collegiate debut, spun and drove for 2. pic.twitter.com/gurWAYhd2c
— Princeton Basketball (@Princeton_Hoops) December 9, 2018

And finally, we saw #DC3 hit an NBA-deep 3, so Jaelin Llewellyn showed a rookie can do it too. pic.twitter.com/P8MUKFln4c
— Princeton Basketball (@Princeton_Hoops) December 9, 2018