Road Warriors Red Storm Move Into First In Big East

 

Joson Sanon putting up a jumper. @StJohnsBball.

The St. John's Red Storm won their 12th straight game on Wednesday night, a 76-70 triumph at Marquette.

Coupled with Connecticut's loss to Creighton, 91-84, at home, for the first time all season, St. John's is in first place in the Big East Conference.

St. John's is now 14-1 in Big East play, with an overall record of 21-5, while UConn is now 14-2 in conference, 24-3 overall.

The 12 straight wins for St. John's has tied the program's longest, when they opened the 2018-19 season with a 12-0 mark when Chris Mullin was at the helm. They are also 8-0 on the road this season, its best since they won their first ten on the road in the 1928-29 season under James "Buck" Freeman.

St. John's was led by Bryce Hopkins, who had a double-double with 23 points, on 8-14 shooting, and 10 rebounds, along with an assist and a steal.

Oziyah Sellers had 12 points on 4-8 from the field, including 2-3 on three-pointers, with two rebounds. Zuby Ejiofor had 10 points (3-10 FG, 4-6 free throws), six rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

St. John's had one of their best first half performances of the season, as they shot 54.8 percent, or 17-31, from the field, and 42.9 percent, or 6-14, from behind the arc. 

The Red Storm led 44-35 at the half, and Marquette opened the second half on an 11-0 run to take a 46-44 lead.

Marquette would open up a six-point edge, at 56-50, on a Nigel James Jr. layup at the 11:55 mark.

That woke up St. John's, and they responded with a 9-0 run capped by a Hopkins three-pointer to go up 59-56 at 9:49.

After James got a three-pointer on Marquette's ensuing possession to tie it at 59, Hopkins scored five straight points to make it 64-59 at the 8:02 mark, and give St. John's an elongated run of 14-3.

The Red Storm lead would expand to eight, at 71-63, with 2:56 remaining, but Marquette had one late run in them, and a James Jr. three-point play pulled them within two, at 72-70, with 27 seconds left.

Ejiofor then got to the line and buried a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left to put them back up four, and then Chase Ross missed a fast-break layup with 14 seconds left, and Hopkins was fouled after snatching the rebound.

Hopkins drained his pair of free throws to put St. John's up six, at 76-70, and seal the win.

The Red Storm shot just 33.3 percent, or 9-27, in the second half, when they normally light it up, but their defense was stout as usual, holding Marquette to just 11 points over the final 9:22. 

Marquette fell to 9-18 overall, including 4-12 in Big East play, in an uncharacteristically brutal season for the Golden Eagles, and first losing campaign in a while for their Head Coach Shaka Smart.