Ian Jackson has big night off bench in St. John’s destruction of Bucknell

Maybe coming off the bench will suit Ian Jackson. 

It didn’t seem to bother him Thursday night. 

The Bronx native and North Carolina transfer said all the right things about his role as a reserve on Wednesday, and then he played like it could fit him, notching a St. John’s team-tying-high 20 points in the 14th-ranked Johnnies’ 97-49 destruction of Bucknell at Carnesecca Arena. 

Jackson began to resemble the player who was such a big-time high school recruit, attacking and not hesitating, a promising sign for St .John’s ahead of what is a monster week starting on Monday in Las Vegas.

He also had four rebounds and three assists in 21 strong minutes. St. John’s outscored Bucknell by 33 points with Jackson on the floor. 

It was a feel-good night for St. John’s, which will face No. 16 Iowa State, Baylor and a team to be determined in Sin City. 

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Bryce Hopkins scored 20 points and hit three 3-pointers, Ruben Prey notched 14 points and three steals and Joson Sanon added 10 points and six rebounds.

Dillon Mitchell (10 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, three blocks) provided the highlight of the night, a coast-to-coast, soaring two-handed jam that had the crowd on its feet.

The Red Storm sank a season-high 10 3-pointers on 25 attempts. 

Over the final 24:43 of action, St. John’s outscored Bucknell by 43 points. 

It marked the first time in program history that St. John’s has scored 90 or more points in its first four games.

It was a slow start, similar to Saturday’s blowout of William & Mary.

The starters came out sluggish, fell behind six points early and Rick Pitino pulled them, bringing in five new players. It was a line change. 

It produced the desired effect. St. John’s closed out the half on a 23-7 run and led by 16 at the break.

The lead reached 30 early in the second half, allowing Pitino to tinker with a number of different lineups.

He used more groups with three guards than he had in the first three games, perhaps a hint of his plans for Las Vegas.