St. John’s Erases 13-Point Deficit in 91-85 Victory at No. 25 Rutgers in Charity Exhibition
Zuby Ejiofor scored 19 of his 27 points in second half to lead the Red Storm past the Scarlet Knights on Thursday
Zuby Ejiofor scored 19 of his 27 points in second half to lead the Red Storm past the Scarlet Knights on Thursday
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PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Oct. 17, 2024) – The St. John’s men’s basketball team rallied back from a 13-point deficit to upend No. 25 Rutgers, 91-85, on Thursday in a preseason matchup at Jersey Mike’s Arena. Zuby Ejiofor scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half to lift the Red Storm over the Scarlet Knights for the second-straight year in a charity exhibition that supported the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund and the V Foundation.
Ejiofor sank nine of his 11 shot attempts in the second half including a key 3-pointer. The Garland, Texas, native also pulled down 13 boards in 33 minutes of action. RJ Luis Jr. complemented Ejiofor’s performance with 22 points of his own on 6-of-9 shooting with a pair distance. The Miami, Fla., native also knocked down eight free throws, pulled down six rebounds and dished out three assists in the victory.
After Ace Bailey put Rutgers up by six with a pair of free throws at the four-minute mark of the second half, Ejiofor and Luis combined to score the next seven points to regain a lead the Johnnies would not relinquish. St. John’s closed the contest on a 14-2 run and shot 57.1 percent (20-35 FG) in the latter stanza.
Simeon Wilcher finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes of work while Aaron Scott rounded out the St. John’s players in double figures with 10 points to go with five boards and three blocks.
The Johnnies and Rutgers battled through the opening five minutes before a Luis 3-pointer at the 14:32 mark doubled the Red Storm lead, 12-6. St. John’s bumped its advantage to nine, 17-8, two minutes later after Kadary Richmond finished off a 12-4 run with three-straight points, including a coast-to-coast finish at the rim.
Dylan Harper, Bailey and PJ Hayes knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers towards the midway point of the half, as the trio combined for 20 of the team’s 22 unanswered points to give Rutgers its largest lead of the game, 30-17, at the 6:52 mark.
Luis helped settle the run with two free throws at 6:11 and scored six of the next eight Red Storm points. The Johnnies whittled their deficit to four, 40-36, with just over a minute remaining after a jumper from Wilcher.
The Scarlet Knights reclaimed an eight-point lead, 44-36, at the intermission after knocking down its final three shots of the first half. Rutgers shot 50.0 percent (16-32 FG) from the field in the opening frame.
Much like the first half, St. John’s and Rutgers traded blows through the final 20 minutes of action. Bailey, who finished with 25 points, caught fire sinking four-straight shots, including back-to-back triples to push Rutgers’ lead back to double digits, 64-52, with 12:40 to play. The freshman wing shot 4-for-9 from distance and grabbed five rebounds in 37 minutes of action.
Scott gave the Red Storm a spark by knocking down a pair of 3-pointers of his own before Wilcher’s one-handed floater helped cut the lead to seven, 69-62, near the midway point. The Johnnies then scored 11 unanswered points over a two-minute span, capped off by a three-point play from Deivon Smith to pull within one. Wilcher then knotted the game at 70 with a pair of free throws at 8:21.
Rutgers answered with nine straight points over the next 1:11 with Harper scoring six to put the Scarlet Knights up 79-70. The freshman guard finished with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
However, down the stretch, the Johnnies rallied behind Ejiofor on both sides of the floor. Following back-to-back slams with less than five minutes to play, Ejiofor swatted Bailey’s shot attempt at the rim to keep the deficit at four, 81-77. The Red Storm’s center delivered another slam and a putback to lock the game at 83 with 2:30 to go. St. John’s reclaimed its first lead since the 10:18 mark of first half after Luis buried a free throw and Richmond drained a jumper to go up, 86-83.
The Red Storm closed the game with key defensive plays as Smith and Richmond intercepted passes and turned their steals into points. Ejiofor sealed the game with a final two-handed slam to secure a 91-85 victory.
St. John’s will return to Carnesecca Arena on Saturday, Oct. 26 against Towson in a charity exhibition supporting Autism Speaks. The preseason contest is scheduled for 12 p.m.
