St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
18-3,9-1Big East
Georgetown
13-8,4-6Big East
No. 15/14 St. John’s Blows Past Georgetown, 66-41; Reaches Best BIG EAST Start in 40 Years
1/28/2025 10:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm move to 9-1 in BIG EAST play for the first time since 1984-85 season and hold the Hoyas to lowest opponent scoring total since 2010
WASHINGTON D.C. (Jan. 28, 2025) – The No. 15/14 St. John's men's basketball team (18-3, 9-1 BIG EAST) sprung out to a dominant start to blow past Georgetown (13-8, 4-6 BIG EAST) on Tuesday night, 66-41, reaching its best start in BIG EAST play in 40 years.
The Red Storm moved to 9-1 in conference competition for the first time since the 1984-85 campaign, when Lou Carnesecca led St. John's to a BIG EAST Regular Season title and the NCAA Tournament Final Four. The Johnnies have captured 13 of their last 14 contest and won seven straight league games, the longest streak in conference play since 2011.
The Red Storm came out firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a 23-3 lead to open the game and never looked back in the rout of the Hoyas in Washington D.C. St. John's held Georgetown to just 41 points, the lowest scoring total by a Red Storm opponent since 2010, when it routed Drake, 82-39, on Nov. 26, 2010. The lockdown performance of Georgetown also marked the lowest ever scoring total by a conference opponent in St. John's BIG EAST history.
With Tuesday night's dominant win at Capital One Arena, the Johnnies finished the month of January undefeated at 7-0 for the first time since the 1984-85 campaign and just the seventh time since World War II. Head Coach Rick Pitino boasted an undefeated mark in the first month of the year for the fifth time in his decorated 37-year collegiate head coaching career. The Hall of Famer previously held an unscathed record in January at Kentucky (1995-96), Louisville (2002-03 and 2008-09) and Iona (2020-21).
The Red Storm's swarming defense recorded 12 steals and five blocks on Tuesday night, cashing in on the offensive end with 21 points off 16 Georgetown turnovers. The Hoyas were held to 24.6 percent (14-57) shooting, marking the first time St. John's has held an opponent under 25 percent from the floor since it limited Fordham to 23.8 percent (18-80) on Dec. 7, 2013.
Kadary Richmond continued to shine, tying for a game-high 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor. The graduate student chipped in six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Over the team's seven game winning streak, the Brooklyn native is averaging 12.3 points, 5.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 steals in 35 minutes of action per game.
Zuby Ejiofor delivered yet another solid performance, totaling 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, 9 rebounds and a pair of steals. The Garland, Texas native holds an 18-game active streak of recording seven rebounds or more, the longest in NCAA Division I. Aaron Scott also nearly finished with a double-double adding 10 points and nine boards.
RJ Luis Jr. was the fourth Johnnie to finish in double-digits, chipping in 10 points. The junior grabbed seven boards and dished out four assists against the Hoyas. The Miami native has scored in double-figures in 24 of his last 26 games at St. John's, dating back to last season.
Simeon Wilcher filled the box scored adding seven points, a season-high five assists and a career-high five steals.
As the contest began, the Red Storm started scorching hot in the nation's capital. Luis Jr. dished a feed down low to Ejiofor for the slam. Scott buried a corner triple as the Johnnies were assisted on each of their first three field goals. Luis Jr. flushed a mid-range as St. John's sprinted out to an 11-0 lead, holding the Hoyas' scoreless for the first 4:07 of the game. After Georgetown got on the board, Ejiofor responded with a triple from the top of the key, forcing a Hoyas timeout.
St. John's continued to dominate and add to its lead, which extended to 18 points after a contested 3-pointer from Wilcher went down. Ejiofor, finished a putback to cap off a 12-0 run as the Red Storm jumped out to a blistering 23-3 lead at the 12:14 mark. The Johnnies' defense held the Hoyas to just three points over the opening 9:49 of the game.
Richmond knocked down a triple followed by a fastbreak lay-in from Ejiofor completing a 7-0 scoring stretch, as the cushion grew to 32-8. Jaiden Glover hit the squad's fifth 3-pointer of the evening off a short toss from Ruben Prey. Luis Jr. threw down an emphatic one-handed jam to take a commanding 37-9 lead with 4:29 remaining in the first 20 minutes. Glover finished a crafty reverse lay-in at the rim to propel the Johnnies lead to 30 points, its largest of the night, 41-11. Vince Iwuchukwu got involved in the scoring party, tallying the next six points for the Red Storm as the lead stood at 47-18 with under a minute remaining.
The Hoyas' Malik Mack finished an old-fashioned three-point play as the Johnnies went to the locker in front 47-21. The 26-point halftime lead marked just the second time in the last 25 years the Johnnies' carried an advantage of 25 points or more into the break against a BIG EAST opponent. St. John's shot 61.8 percent (21-34) and held Georgetown to 23.3 percent shooting in the opening stanza.
In the second half, Georgetown scored the first eight points to chop the Johnnies lead down to 18, 47-29. After Ejiofor ended the scoring drought from the free throw line, the Red Storm kicked back into gear with thundering dunks from Scott and Ejiofor. The offense sputtered as the two teams combined for just six points over the next four minutes of action. The Hoyas cut its deficit down to 16 after an alley-oop before Wilcher ended the scoring drought with a tough finish at the basket. The Hoyas went on a 5-0 run to crawl as close as 15 before Scott drained a corner triple to end another scoring drought. The triple reignited the Red Storm on the road, turning a pair of steals into points as a Richmond bucket shot the lead back up to 22, 62-40, at the under four media timeout.
In the final minutes, the Red Storm continued to pad to its sizeable margin as Scott finished a second chance opportunity in the paint. Luis Jr. got a lay-up to go through contact to end the game on a 11-1 scoring run. The Hoyas were held without a field goal and scored just two points over the final 7:04, as the Red Storm dominated its way to its ninth consecutive victory in the series over its conference rival.
St. John's will be back in action at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon when it welcomes Providence for a noon tip on CBS Sports Network. To purchase tickets to the matchup at The World's Most Famous Arena click here, call 1-888-GO-STORM or visit RedStormTix.com.
