RV/RV St. John’s Routs DePaul, 89-61, in BIG EAST Opener

Tuesday, December 17

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

6:30 p.m.

St. John's University

9-2,1-0Big East

DePaul

8-3,0-2Big East

DePaul

St. John's (NY)

RV/RV St. John’s Routs DePaul, 89-61, in BIG EAST Opener

12/17/2024 9:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Red Storm men’s basketball team won its fourth-straight BIG EAST opener on Tuesday at Carnesecca Arena

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team (9-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) led wire-to-wire in its BIG EAST opener on Tuesday rolling to an 89-61 victory over DePaul (8-3, 0-2 BIG EAST) at Carnesecca Arena. Junior wing RJ Luis Jr. scored a game-high 19 points to help lift the Red Storm to its fourth-straight victory.

The Johnnies shot 55.2 (37-67 FG) from the field and recorded 80 of their 89 points inside the 3-point arc. Defensively, St. John's delivered one of its top performances of the season, holding the Blue Demons to just six 3-pointers after entering the game ranked second in the nation averaging 12.8 per contest. The Red Storm also recorded a season-high 14 steals and forced 20 turnovers.

St. John's starters Kadary Richmond (18 points), Simeon Wilcher (16 points) and Zuby Ejiofor (12 points) finished in double figures. Richmond matched Ejiofor with a game-high seven rebounds. Wilcher shot 7-for-9 from the field and buried two of the team's three 3-pointers.

Deivon Smith returned to the Johnnies' starting lineup and shined on both ends of the floor. The 6-foot senior guard stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds, eight assists and five steals.

The Red Storm jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the early going and never looked back. Wilcher powered the run by scoring seven straight points, including a 3-pointer from the wing to cap the spurt at 13:47. Later in the half, Luis had the hot hand scoring 10 points in a row to push the Johnnies ahead, 27-18, at the 6:03 mark.

St. John's carried a 40-29 advantage into the break as Luis and Wilcher combined for 24 points in the first 20 minutes.

The Johnnies picked up the pace in the second half, going on a 17-4 run to open a 24-point advantage less than six minutes into the frame. Vince Iwuchukwu had a pair of slams during the surge, Richmond converted a three-point play and Smith closed the offensive flurry with a putback to send St. John's up 57-33 at 14:34.

St. John's opened its largest lead of the game, 84-49, at the 6:33 mark. Red Storm freshman Jaiden Glover threw down a dunk and then converted layup in transition before Smith finished again at the rim.

All 13 Johnnies saw game action on Tuesday, including freshman center Khaman Maker who made his St. John's debut.

St. John's returns to BIG EAST action on Friday in a primetime showdown at Providence. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Amica Mutual Pavilion. FOX will carry the national telecast.