St. John’s Earns Vivid Seats Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project presented by Continental Tire Championship

November 23, 2022

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Andre Curbelo scored 23 points and handed out six assists as St. John’s won the renewal of its rivalry with Syracuse 76-69 in overtime to win the title of the Vivid Seats Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project presented by Continental Tire.

Curbelo shot a blistering 9-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-3 from three. He also starred defensively with a game-best four steals to earn tournament MVP honors.

Joel Soriano had a dominating game for the Red Storm in recording 19 points and 14 rebounds. David Jones was equally as dominant with 18 points and 13 boards.

In all, St. John’s had 17 offensive rebounds and converted those into 15 points. Defensively, the Red Storm limited Syracuse star guard Joseph Girard III to just 1-of-10 shooting from the field, including 0-of-4 from three. He had been averaging 18 ppg prior to the game.

Syracuse was led by Judah Mintz who had 20 points. Jesse Edwards had 18 points and eight rebounds, Chris Bell added 12 points, and Benny Williams tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds.

In the consolation game, Tyler Burton scored 18 points and had six rebounds to lead Richmond to a 61-49 win over Temple. Jason Nelson scored 13 points and Andre Gustavson had 12. Khalif Battle led all scorers with 26 points for Temple.

Joining Andre Curbelo on the all-tournament team was St. John’s teammate Joel Soriano, Judah Mintz and Jesse Edwards of Syracuse, and Tyler Burton of Richmond.