RV/RV St. John’s Rolls to 88-71 Victory over Kansas State

Saturday, December 7

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

11:30 a.m.

St. John's University

7-2,0-0Big East

Kansas State

6-3,0-0Big 12

Kansas St.

St. John's (NY)

Zuby Ejiofor poured in a career-high 28 points to go along with 13 rebounds and two assists.

RV/RV St. John’s Rolls to 88-71 Victory over Kansas State

12/7/2024 3:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Zuby Ejiofor registered a career-high 28 points and 13 boards in first game since passing of legendary Head Coach Lou Carnesecca

QUEENS, N.Y. – A career performance with 28 points and 13 rebounds from junior big man Zuby Ejiofor propelled the RV/RV St. John's men's basketball team (7-2) to an 88-71 win over Kansas State (6-3) in the team's first game since the passing Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and legendary head coach Lou Carnesecca on Saturday.

Ejiofor shot 11-for-17 from the field, hit a 3-pointer and drained all five free-throw attempts before a sold-out crowd at Carnesecca Arena. The junior forward pulled down nine of his 13 boards on the offensive glass and blocked two shots in 36 minutes of action. The double-double effort was Ejiofor's third of the season.

Kadary Richmond registered 13 points, six boards, four assists and matched a career-high with three blocks. RJ Luis Jr. and Simeon Wilcher rounded out the Red Storm players who scored in double figures, chipping in 11 points apiece.

St. John's dominated the glass, outrebounding Kansas State by 11 and pulled down 50-plus rebounds for the second-straight game. The Johnnies also handed out 17 assists and committed just eight turnovers against the Wildcats.

Brandon Hausen scored 21 of his 27 points in the first half to help lead the Wildcats into the break with a 39-35 advantage. Hausen buried all six of his 3-pointers in the opening half, including three during a 14-2 run that pushed Kansas State out to its largest lead, 31-21, with 5:35 on the clock.

St. John's answered with a 7-0 run that featured a jumper from Richmond, 3-pointer from Jaiden Glover and a layup from Ejiofor. The Johnnies trimmed its deficit to 34-33 with Ejiofor's tip-in before Hausen hit his sixth triple and David N'Guessan converted a layup to give the Wildcats a four-point edge at the break.

After shooting just 33.3 percent (13-39 FG) in the first half, the Johnnies elevated their shooting efficiency in the later stanza going 52.8 percent (19-36 FG) from the field. St. John's also converted 11-of-12 free-throw attempts in the final 20 minutes and shot 94.1 percent (16-17 FT) from the line in the contest.

Luis helped spark a 6-0 spurt for the Red Storm in the early going of the second half with a pair of finishes at the rim to knot the game at 41. The pace picked up over the next few minutes with Red Storm's run ballooning to 14-3 and was capped by back-to-back threes from Luis and Aaron Scott to take a 53-44 advantage at 15:32.

Wilcher, who started the second half, also helped fuel the surge by scoring six of his 11 second half points in the first four minutes of the period. The sophomore guard shot 5-for-8 from the field and grabbed four rebounds.

Ejiofor helped the Johnnies blow open the game by scoring 15 of the team's next 19 points to go up 72-55 at the 7:48 mark. Ruben Prey was responsible for the other four points, as the 6-foot-10 forward buried a triple and sank a free-throw.

St. John's led by as many as 19 points and maintained a double-digit advantage down the stretch. Defensively, St. John's locked down Hausen who scored just six points and shot 2-for-6 from the floor and missed both 3-point attempts in the second half.

The Red Storm will continue its four-game homestead when Bryant comes to Carneseecca Arena on Wednesday. Tip-off from Queens is slated for 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.