St. John's Beats Texas 87-74 in Exhibition at Madison Square Garden St. John's defeated Texas 87-74 in a preseason exhibition at Madison Square Garden, led by 24 points from Keyshawn Hall and 23 from Tounde Yessoufou, while Texas committed 16 turnovers. St. John's cruised to an 87-74 exhibition victory over Texas on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, a final tune-up before the regular season begins. The Red Storm, ranked No. 13 in the preseason, dominated early and never trailed after the opening possession. Texas fell to 0-1 in exhibition play. Keyshawn Hall led St. John's with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Tounde Yessoufou added 23 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds.Ian Jackson also contributed as the trio of Hall, Jackson and Yessoufou combined for 65 points on 23-of-41 shooting. St. John's head coach Rick Pitino was pleased with his team's performance. I try to use you people as much as I can, and you oblige me all the time, Pitino said with a smile. I felt that we had to make a quantum leap from the Rutgers game.Hall And Pitino Praise TeamI was on them constantly about certain things and they made a quantum leap today. Hall emphasized the team's approach. We wanted to come out and set a standard and be dominant in our home court, Hall said. We had to come out and not let them guys get ahead of us or be more physical than us and play harder than us.We match up skill-wise with probably anybody in the country. It's the physical toughness and little intangibles that are going to matter. St. John's finished with 19 assists on 34 made field goals, with Quinn Ellis dishing out seven assists and providing poise running the offense. Freshman big man Theo Edema gave a strong effort off the bench with seven rebounds.The Johnnies were plus-five on the glass and plus-22 in points in the paint against the bigger Longhorns. Yessoufou highlighted the physicality. That's the main key if you want to win, is to hit people, Yessoufou said. That's what Pitino always emphasizes to all of us.Texas, ranked No. 7 in the preseason, struggled with turnovers throughout the game. The Longhorns committed 16 turnovers, which St. John's converted into 20 points. Austin Goosby led Texas with five turnovers, while Isaiah Johnson had three. The sloppy play helped St. John's build a big lead that Texas could never erase.Texas Freshmen Find PositivesDespite the loss, Texas head coach Sean Miller saw positives from his freshmen class. Austin Goosby got the start and contributed seven points, along with an assist, steal and corner triple in the first few possessions. Marcus Spears Jr. did a bit of everything with nine points, five rebounds, two assists and three blocks, with his defense standing out. Bo Ogden added five points and three rebounds off the bench, posting a team-best plus-minus of plus-one.Texas also showed defensive issues, allowing St. John's easy drives to the rim and second-chance opportunities on the offensive glass. Hall looked like a pro, getting whatever he wanted in the paint. The Longhorns will need to fix these problems before SEC play or risk falling short of expectations. Fortunately, it is only one exhibition, and there is no real reason for panic.Texas opens the regular season against Chicago State on Nov. 2. St. John's begins its regular season against Monmouth on Nov. 2. Pitino believes his team made real progress over the last week and could be ready for the loaded Players Era Festival in Las Vegas Thanksgiving week. I think we can be ready now, Pitino said.I wasn't sure after the Rutgers game. We just have to cram. St. John's had struggled on the interior in its first two exhibition games against Drexel and Rutgers, being outrebounded in both contests. But against Texas, the Johnnies were the more physical team.Preparing For Regular SeasonThe group has been together for just over a month and Pitino believes they understand roughly 50 percent of what he wants to do at both ends of the floor. There are only two key returners back from last year in Jackson and Ruben Prey. Afterward, Hall and Yessoufou acknowledged they didn't finish well, lamenting some loose defensive possessions and rebounding shortcomings. The talent is clearly there with this group.It's the little things that could take them to another level. Texas was among the biggest spenders in the offseason, adding elite transfers like forward David Punch from TCU, point guard Isaiah Johnson from Colorado and wing Elyjah Freeman from Auburn. They returned standout center Matas Vokietaitis. The exhibition showdown was similar to last year's meeting with eventual national champion Michigan, which St. John's lost in overtime.