Providence’s Weyinmi Efejuku, left, contests Paris Horne of St. John’s for a loose ball in the first half yesterday during the Friars’ victory.

The Journal / Glenn Osmundson

PROVIDENCE — The Friars’ penchant for slow starts continued to both puzzle and frustrate the players and coaching staff yesterday.

After their 75-54 win over St. John’s, the Friars were all smiles and could joke about an early 11-0 deficit that energized the Red Storm. PC turned the ball over twice, missed its first four shots and watched the Storm make four of their first eight shots to burst out of the gates.

The slow starts have been a recurring theme for the Friars and must be dealt with as the beasts of the Big East approach on the schedule. PC hosts DePaul on Saturday night.

Did coach Keno Davis feel a bit of déjà vu yesterday as his team fell into a quick hole?

“Of course. How can you not?” he said with a smile. “You look up there and we’re down 9-0 or 11-0 or whatever it was. What is going on?”

Davis said he saw some positives in the run that prevented him from panicking.

“I don’t feel like you’ll see any change of a lineup, because I feel like we’re playing hard,” he said. “Today, I thought our defense was fine but we just didn’t get going offensively. So that’s my job — to make better play calls or run better offense to start the game where we’re attacking and not back on our heels.”

The Friars wiped out the Storm’s quick start by digging in on defense and finally making some shots. PC answered with a 20-6 run that put them on top, 20-17. They never trailed the rest of the way.

Kellogg returns

Sophomore forward Alex Kellogg returned to action for the first time in nearly a month yesterday. Kellogg, who is the team’s ninth player in Davis’ strict rotation, took needed rest to recover from a bothersome knee, but then developed swelling. The injury doesn’t require surgery, but it must be monitored as the season progresses.

“Since we came back from Christmas break, he’s been working with the scout team and he’s getting his legs back,” said Davis. “He hasn’t had a chance to get his timing down with the offense and the defense, so now you’ll see him get more reps in practice and that will help him. He’s been out for a while .”

Davis said that with Kellogg back, he’s implementing plans to redshirt sophomore Greedy Peterson and freshman Bilal Dixon. Neither forward has played a minute this season, although Davis said he likes the potential of both players.

“Right now, that’s the plan,” said Davis. “It would have to be something extreme where we’d take a redshirt now with the Big East beginning.”

Academics first

PC and the National Grid Foundation kicked off the Hoops for the Stars program yesterday to benefit academic performance in Providence’s middle schools. The program rewards academic success and promotes opportunities for solutions to adverse educational issues in the greater Providence area.

Through a grant from the National Grid Foundation, PC provided tickets to the students in the program. The foundation runs the same program with the St. John’s and Syracuse basketball programs. Bob Keller, the executive director of the Grid Foundation, was presented a game ball by PC athletic director Bob Driscoll at halftime.

How times have changed

St. John’s (9-4) is off to a decent start on the floor but not off. The Red Storm isn’t registering much of a pulse in the New York City area. In 10 home games, the Storm has drawn an average of 2,643 fans and two games (Eastern Michigan and Loyola, Ill.) drew less than 1,000. No New York area newspaper staffed yesterday’s Big East opener.

The cold shoulder

The snowstorm hurt the Friars at the ticket gate yesterday. The school said it sold 8,516 tickets and was hoping for a large walk-up because of an association with the Bright Night festivities downtown. However, most fans stayed away and watched on TV. The announced crowd was 3,037.

kmcnamar@projo.com