St. John’s bounces back with 78-63 win over UMass

Wendell CruzSt. John’s finished the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off with a late spurt to win, 78-63, over Massachusetts in the Consolation Game.

It was an error-filled game against UMass, one that saw Mustapha Heron and LJ Figueroa combine for 13 points — but the Red Storm still won in grind-it-out fashion.

In a sparsely filled arena, in front of a few hundred St. John’s and UMass partisans, St. John’s started solidly, and... started to struggle mightily against Massachusetts length and shooting. The Red Storm held the lead for much of the half; they forced turnovers from UMass. They went to the foul line.

But the team could not hit free throw shots, going 6/13 from the charity stripe in the…