Zuby Ejiofor breaks out in St. John’s basketball’s emotional win over Kansas State

As St. John’s paid tribute to the late Lou Carnesecca, Ejiofor posted a career-best 28-point performance in a come-from-behind win for the Red Storm

One of Lou Carnesecca’s famous adages was “A peacock today, a feather duster tomorrow”. Seven days removed from the death of the legendary St. John’s men’s basketball coach, the Red Storm instead went from feather dusters to peacocks in their 88-71 Saturday afternoon win over Kansas State, coming back from a ten-point deficit and steamrolling to a 53-point second half in front of a capacity crowd at Carnesecca Arena.

Zuby Ejiofor put on the performance Red Storm fans have been waiting for. The former Jayhawk blitzed his former rival with a 28-point, 13-rebound masterclass, setting career bests in both categories.

Emotions ran high before tip-off. A moment of silence was held for the late Lou Carnesecca, and head coach Rick Pitino took the floor wearing a red-and-blue chevron-striped sweater in homage to the legendary St. John’s basketball coach.

Before Ejiofor took over the game, St. John’s could not find themselves for much of the first half, missing easy layups and open triples. The Red Storm only made seven of their first 28 shots.

Villanova transfer Brendan Hausen carried Kansas State’s offense with an unconscious shooting performance, scoring 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 6-of-8 from three. The Wildcats would take their largest lead, a 31-21 edge, with 5:36 left in the first half after David N’Guessan went cherry-picking and got a fastbreak dunk off a missed R.J. Luis triple. Multiple layups by Zuby Ejiofor and Simeon Wilcher by the end of the half would cut the deficit to a 39-35 Kansas State lead.

The tone shifted in the second half, with St. John’s going on an 18-3 run to take a nine-point lead. Back-to-back threes by R.J. Luis and Aaron Scott on the left wing sent the sellout Carnesecca Arena crowd into a frenzy.

St. John’s found an answer to Brendan Hausen’s barrage from beyond the arc when Rick Pitino tasked Simeon Wilcher with guarding the sharpshooter after Brady Dunlap was unable to stop him. Wilcher met the challenge, holding Hausen to only six points on 2-of-6 shooting and 0-of-2 from three in the second half.

With Hausen held in check, the Wildcats had no other answer for the Red Storm in the second half. Kansas State shot 10-of-32 and did not make a single three after halftime, missing all ten of their three-point attempts. Coleman Hawkins only scored 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Dug McDaniel could not repeat last year’s scoring outburst against the Johnnies, scoring just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting.

The rout was on for St. John’s from that point. Including Ejiofor’s 28 points, four Red Storm players scored in double-figures. Simeon Wilcher scored all 11 of his points in the second half. Deivon Smith, returning from a one-game suspension, scored five points and pulled down nine rebounds off the bench.

After improving to a 7-2 record, St. John’s returns to action on Wednesday, December 11 for a home matchup with Bryant (7:00 p.m., CBS Sports Network).