St. John’s to Host Bryant on Wednesday

QUEENS, N.Y. – Following a dominant 17-point win over Big 12 foe Kansas State on Saturday, the St. John's men's basketball team will return to action on Wednesday against Bryant inside Carnesecca Arena.

Tip-off from Queens is scheduled for 7 p.m. CBS Sports Network will carry the national telecast with Jason Knapp and Chris Walker on the call.

An audio broadcast of the game on the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network with John Minko and Brandon Tierney will also be available on a variety of platforms including the Varsity Network App, TuneIn Radio, RedStormSports.com and the St. John's Red Storm mobile app. The radio broadcast can also be heard on SiriusXM radio channel 139 or 201 and via the SiriusXM App.

The Red Storm, which boasts a 7-2 record entering the week, earned 43 votes in the latest Associated Press (AP) Top 25 Poll following an 88-71 victory over the Wildcats. Junior forward Zuby Ejiofor unloaded a career-high 28 points and 13 boards on Saturday, including nine offensive boards in the win.

St. John's enters the matchup with the Bulldogs ranked sixth in the nation averaging 6.1 blocks per game. The Johnnies have also been stellar on the boards through nine games, pulling down 42.2 rebounds (16^th in NCAA). The Red Storm has grabbed 13.8 offensive rebounds while managing 28.4 on the defensive glass, both ranking 35^th in Division I.

Ejiofor has been a key contributor in both categories with 2.3 swats (15^th in NCAA) and 7.4 rebounds per game. The Johnnies' big man is one of three Red Storm players averaging double figures this season with 13.6 points per contest, joining RJ Luis Jr. (16.9 ppg) and Kadary Richmond (10.6 ppg). Luis and Ejiofor are also tied for second in the BIG EAST and 43^rd in the nation with three double-doubles this season.

In its six home contests, the Red Storm has outscored its opponents by a margin of 20.0 points per game. St. John's is averaging 84.0 points on 47.4 percent shooting from the floor while holding the opposition to 64.0 points per contest at a 36.7 shooting clip.

St. John's will square off with Bryant for just the second time in program history, earning an 80-44 victory over the Bulldogs on Dec. 23, 2009. D.J. Kennedy led the Red Storm with a game-high 18 points, going 5-for-8 effort from the field and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. Dwight Hardy and Paris Horne chipped in 16 points apiece in the victory.

Bryant (6-5) is fresh off a 122-63 win over D3 VTSU-Johnson on Sunday, as three Bulldogs eclipsed the 20-point threshold led by Connor Withers with 25 points. Rafael Pinzon and Keyshawn Mitchell chipped in 22 and 20 points, respectively.

Pinzon has been stellar for Bryant this season with 216 total points (6^th in NCAA) and averaging 19.2 points per game (31^stin NCAA). The former Johnnie is also shooting at a 52.6 percent (30-57 3FG) from distance through 11 games, which is the 10^th highest average in the nation.

As a team, the Bulldogs are top 20 in the country with 86.3 points (16^th), 42.7 rebounds (15^th) and 5.5 blocks (18^th) per game.

Following Wednesday's game, the Red Storm will open BIG EAST play and wrap up its four-game homestand when DePaul comes to Carnesecca Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 17. Tip-off from Queens is slated for 6:30 p.m. on Peacock.

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Players Mentioned

Zuby Ejiofor

RJ Luis Jr.

Kadary Richmond

St. John's University Athletics