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| Ruben Prey rocking the rim after a dunk that put St. John's up 30-14 at the 8:51 mark of the first half. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The St. John's Red Storm dominated from start to finish as they rolled by the Villanova Wildcats, 89-57, on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
This was just the response that the Red Storm needed after their brutal loss at UConn on Wednesday night that ended their 13-game winning streak.
St. John's is now 16-2 in Big East Conference play, and they are now 23-6 overall. They remain a half-game behind UConn (17-2) for the top spot in the conference with two regular season games remaining
St. John's has now won 16 games in Big East play for the second straight season, remarkable considering they had never before won more than 15 games in Big East play.
Villanova entered this one with the same overall record as St. John's, so they are now 22-7, and 13-5 in Big East play.
St. John's came out firing in this one, as they raced out to an 11-2 lead in the first five minutes.
Villanova then pulled within 15-11, and St. John's responded with a 17-3 run to open up a 32-14 lead on a pair of free throws by Ruben Prey. This came after Prey had an electric dunk at the 8:51 mark on a fast break after an Ian Jackson steal.
After Villanova got a three-pointer from Devin Askew at 7:50, St. John's went on a 12-0 run capped by a Bryce Hopkins three-pointer to take a 44-17 lead with 2:31 left.
The St. John's lead bulged to 30 points, at 48-18, with 1:15 left in the half before they took a 48-23 edge into the break.
In the first half, St. John's lit it up to the tune of 57.6 percent, or 19-33, from the field, including 50%, or 5-10, from behind the arc.
Villanova was held to 25.9 percent, or 7-27, from the field, as it felt like they really never were able to set up their offense, as St. John's tenacious defense forced them into wild passes, their players being way too spread out around the floor, and taking shots with five seconds or less on the clock repeatedly.
In the second half, Villanova was not able to make any significant dent into the deficit, pulling within 17 on a couple of occasions. After the second instance, when it was 58-41 St. John's, the Red Storm went on a 9-0 run to go back up 26, at 47-61, on a Joson Sanon three-point play at the 10:30 mark.
A Sonon jumper at 3:12 gave St. John's their biggest lead of the night, 83-51.
They would go on to win by that margin of 32 points, 89-57, which, was the same as what UConn beat them by three nights before, 72-40, in Storrs, Connecticut. As colleague David Russell said afterwards, "A good way to get over losing by 32 is winning by 32."
The Red Storm is now 11-0 after losses in the past two seasons under Head Coach Rick Pitino.
St. John's was led by Ian Jaclkson, who had 19 points on 5-11 from the field, including 2-5 on three-pointers, and 7-8 from the free-throw line.
Zuby Ejiofor had 16 points (6-12 FG, 1-1 threes), with 12 rebounds and 10 assists, to give him a triple-double. Oziyah Sellers had 14 points (6-8 FG, 2-3 threes), three assists, and two rebounds. He became the second St. John's player in the 21st century, and fourth since 1993 to notch a triple-double.
Ruben Prey had 10 points (3-4 FG, 1-1 threes) off the bench for his best offensive night of the season, as he also snatched five rebounds and an assist.
St. John's had a season-high 26 assists on the season on 32 made field goals. The 26 assists also tied the most in a Big East game for the Red Storm since February 6, 1999, when they had 27 in an 88-60 win at Pittsburgh.
PITINO POSTGAME: St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino addressed the media after the game, and he opened with this statement on Ian Jackson: "Ian, I told him that he's one of two people that are most improved on the team. He probably doesn't see it as much as I do because he just wants to score 40 points a game, but he's gotten to become a better defensive player. He's picking up a lot of different things from rebounding and steals and making himself a total player, not just a scorer. That's what we're trying to do more than anything else because he has that ability."
On Jackson's trajectory as a defender: "He can be the best defensive player on the team. He just has never been known as that and he's focused on it. I took him out because he went under on (Tyler) Perkins, and I said, 'I'm putting you right back in, but don't ever go under a shooter again.' And he says, 'I got you Coach,' and he went back in and played terrific."
On Zuby Ejiofor's triple double: "Zuby had a triple double, which is incredible for a five-man on your team to get 10 assists, but he is the team leader in assists."
On his relationship with Ejiofor: "I get along great with every player that works hard. I don't get along with players that don't work hard. I feel when you put that St. John's uniform on or you put that Louisville uniform on, Kentucky or Providence, you're coming to get better. You're coming to bring it every single day because the coaching staff is going to bring it every single day, and that's Zuby. It's a great match because he brings it every single day. That's what the great ones do."
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