NEW YORK (Feb. 16, 2025) – The No. 9/8 St. John’s men’s basketball team (22-4, 13-2 BIG EAST) captured its third win over a top-25 opponent in the last 12 days, taking down No. 24/21 Creighton (18-8, 11-4 BIG EAST) in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, 79-73.

In the battle for the top spot in the BIG EAST standings, the Johnnies rallied to their 18th straight regular season home victory and now hold a two-game lead over the second place Bluejays. St. John’s 13 wins in BIG EAST action marks the program’s highest total since going 14-4 in 1998-99.

St. John’s erased a 10-point first half deficit and used a 10-0 run in just under six minutes of game action in the latter stanza to regain a lead it would not relinquish. Kadary Richmond bookended the decisive run with a pair of buckets while Zuby Ejiofor helped power the spurt with six points of his own.

RJ Luis Jr. led the Johnnies with 23 points, scoring 10 points at the free-throw line, grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds and dished out five assists. Richmond finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists. Ejiofor notched 18 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. The St. John’s trio combined for 60 of the team’s 79 points.

As a team, the Red Storm recorded assists on 21 of its 28 field goals. St. John’s also forced 15 turnovers and registered 20 points off the Bluejays’ mishaps.

Creighton was led by veteran point guard Steven Ashworth, who finished with 23 points and 11 assists. The Alpine, Utah, native drained four of the team’s eight 3-pointers.

After Luis denied Bluejays’ center Ryan Kalkbrenner on the opening possession that led to Ejiofor’s first of two 3-pointers, Creighton went on a 14-1 run to open a 10-point lead on Jasen Green’s putback at the 15:00 mark. The Johnnies answered with five-straight points, a spurt capped by Aaron Scott’s 3-pointer, to cut the deficit to single digits. St. John’s then outscore the Bluejays, 17-7, to eventually tie the game at 21-21 with Luis’ jumper at 10:28.

The lead traded sides six more times over the final 10 minutes of the first half with neither team leading by more than three points during the stretch. Deivon Smith gave the Johnnies a boost off the bench scoring four buckets in just over four minutes. The senior guard, who returned to action after missing Wednesday’s setback at Villanova, shot 4-for-9 from the field and handed out three assists in 26 minutes of action.

The Johnnies began a 6-0 scoring spurt at the 3:48 mark with a lay-in by Ejiofor to capture a 36-35 advantage with 2:37 left on the clock. The run was capped by an Ejiofor mid-range jumper to close the half, giving the Red Storm a one-point edge, 40-39, at the break.

In the second stanza, the Red Storm and Bluejays battled neck-and-neck as the game remained within five points for most of the half. Ashworth nailed a triple to put the visitors up five, 53-48, at the 14:51 mark, Creighton’s largest lead of the second half.

Ejiofor threw down putback jam to make it a one-point game, 53-52, with 12:54 to play. The junior forward continued to dominate by scoring six points the Red Storm’s decisive 10-0 run. During the stretch, Creighton missed 11 consecutive field goal attempts. The scoring spurt was capped off by Richmond’s crafty one-handed lay-in off a behind-the-back dish from Luis to give St. John’s a five-point cushion, 58-53.

The Bluejays got within one, 58-57, after a fastbreak dunk by Jamiya Neal, but that was as close as Creighton would get. Minutes later, Scott buried his second triple of the game from the corner to make it a two-possession game, 64-59, with just under six minutes to play.

In the closing minutes, Scott finished rim to give the Johnnies their largest lead of the contest, 72-64, at 1:17. St. John’s converted seven of eight free-throw attempts in the final minute to seal the victory.

The Red Storm returns to action on Wednesday in Chicago when it visits DePaul. The Johnnies and Blue Demons will square off at 9 p.m. ET

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