Ejiofor’s heroics cemented a 16-point come-from-behind victory for the Red Storm in their first road game of the year
St. John’s never wins games like these. More than likely, they would be on the wrong end of dramatic buzzer-beating finishes.
On Friday night against Providence, the Red Storm were finally the protagonists.
After the Johnnies battled back from a 16-point deficit to knot the game up in the final stage of the game, Deivon Smith missed a pull-up mid-range jumper with four seconds to go. As Smith’s shot went up, Zuby Ejiofor muscled his way from the far elbow to the basket to snatch the offensive rebound over Bensley Joseph, then made a putback layup over three converging defenders as the final horn sounded to push St. John’s over the finish line for a spirited 72-70 win.
ZUBY AT THE BUZZER pic.twitter.com/N8DnUqOEPf
— St. John’s Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) December 21, 2024
St. John’s had not won on the road at Providence since 2017, and through the first twenty minutes versus Providence, it appeared the Johnnies were once again not ready for the hostile environment of Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The Red Storm shot a miserable 35.1% from the field, taking rushed mid-range jumpers and struggling to find any rhythm whatsoever. Meanwhile, the Friars carved up the St. John’s defense to the tune of 63.0% shooting from the field and 54.5% (6-of-11) from three, in spite of missing star guard Bryce Hopkins with a knee injury for a second straight game. The Red Storm trailed by as much as 16 points before trimming the deficit to 42-29 entering halftime.
The Red Storm’s offense still struggled out of the halftime break, but they finally brought the defensive intensity. The Friars were held to only 28 second-half points on 32% shooting from the field and 1-of-8 from three while giving up nine turnovers. The backcourt duo of Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph commanded the Friars offense with a combined 22 first-half points (8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from three), but the pair were just held to 11 points in the second half (3-of-13 from the field, 1-of-7 from three).
Even after shooting at a frigid 16.7% three-point clip (3-of-18) and missing an unacceptable 15 of 26 free throw attempts, the Red Storm were able to pull ahead for most of the final seven minutes of action. Zuby Ejiofor recorded his fifth double-double of the season with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Deivon Smith (17 points on 8-of-15 shooting) and R.J. Luis (16 points on 5-of-13 shooting) made some gutsy late buckets to swing momentum in the Red Storm’s favor and set up Ejiofor’s last-gasp heroics.
St. John’s improved to a 10-2 record and their first 2-0 start in Big East play since the 2016-17 season. The Red Storm will have the week off for Christmas before they return to action and face Delaware at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday, December 28 (6:00 p.m., FS1).