St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, January 4
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
2 p.m.
St. John's University
12-3,3-1Big East
70
vs
62
Butler
7-8,0-4Big East
1
2
F
Butler
29
33
62
St. John's (NY)
25
45
70
RV/RV St. John’s Downs Butler, 70-62, on “Lou Carnesecca Day”
1/4/2025 6:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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RJ Luis Jr. led four Johnnies in double figures with a 20-point, 11-rebound performance on Saturday
QUEENS, N.Y. – A 20-point, 11-rebound double-double from RJ Luis Jr. propelled the RV/RV St. John's men's basketball team (12-3, 3-1 BIG EAST) to a 70-62 victory over Butler (7-8, 0-4 BIG EAST) in front of a sold-out crowd on "Lou Carnesecca Day" inside its on-campus home on Saturday.
The junior out of Miami, Fla., registered his fourth double-double of the season. The 6-foot-7 wing also chipped in a game-best four steals.
Zuby Ejiofor chipped in all 14 of his points in the second half, going 4-for-6 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe across the final 20 minutes of action. The Johnnies' big man also finished with eight boards and a steal in the winning effort.
Deivon Smith added a 13-point effort and finished with six boards, four assists and a pair of steals in nearly 30 minutes of work. Kadary Richmond rounded out those in double figures with 11 points, six assists, six rebounds and a trio of swipes.
The Johnnies knocked down just one 3-pointer in the winning effort, marking just the sixth time this season that an NCAA Division I team has won a game with exactly one 3-pointer made. It also marks the first time the Red Storm has hit exactly one triple in a regular season conference win since toppling No. 14 Cincinnati, 53-52, on Jan. 5, 2013.
St. John's has won 14 straight games inside Carnesecca Arena dating back to the start of the 2023-24 season. It is tied for the eighth-longest winning streak inside its on-campus arena in program history.
The Red Storm forced 21 turnovers in the victory and registered 27 fastbreak points in transition.
The tandem of Luis and Richmond pushed the Red Storm out to an early lead. After a bucket from Richmond at the rim, Luis rattled off the next eight St. John's points, including a pair of wide-open dunks on feeds from Richmond for a 10-3 edge.
The Johnnies shined defensively by holding Butler scoreless through the first 5:17 of the game and limiting the Bulldogs to just one field goal in its first 16 attempts from the field. The Red Storm also registered five steals and three blocks through the first 11 minutes of the game.
After Butler closed the gap and took the lead with 13 unanswered points over the 3:26 span, Richmond nailed a midrange jumper and Sadiku Ibine Ayo drained a 3-pointer to halt the stretch and pulled St. John's back within one, 19-18, with just under four minutes to play in the first frame. St. John's trailed, 29-25, entering the break despite seven straight points from Smith to close the half.
The Johnnies saw its deficit grow to as many as seven to open the second stanza before running up 10 unanswered points over a span of 1:03 to reclaim its first lead, 39-36, since 8:35 of the first half. Ejiofor sparked the run with eight points of his own, including a pair of three-point plays. Luis also pickpocketed Kolby King during the stretch and threw down a pulverizing one-handed slam that sent the Carnesecca crowd into a frenzy.
While the Red Storm also increased its lead to as many as seven, Butler quickly responded with an 11-2 run capped off by back-to-back triples from Patrick McCaffery to claim a 49-47 advantage.
Both teams went back and forth over the next five minutes as St. John's and Butler exchanged three ties before the Red Storm captured an eight-point edge, 66-58, following an 11-3 run where Richmond registered five points of his own. The Johnnies increased its advantage to double digits down the stretch, only to see Butler's Brooks reach a team-best 17 points with a finish at the rim before time expired.
St. John's will hit the road to face Xavier on Tuesday evening. Tip-off from Cintas Center is slated for 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
The junior out of Miami, Fla., registered his fourth double-double of the season. The 6-foot-7 wing also chipped in a game-best four steals.
Zuby Ejiofor chipped in all 14 of his points in the second half, going 4-for-6 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe across the final 20 minutes of action. The Johnnies' big man also finished with eight boards and a steal in the winning effort.
Deivon Smith added a 13-point effort and finished with six boards, four assists and a pair of steals in nearly 30 minutes of work. Kadary Richmond rounded out those in double figures with 11 points, six assists, six rebounds and a trio of swipes.
The Johnnies knocked down just one 3-pointer in the winning effort, marking just the sixth time this season that an NCAA Division I team has won a game with exactly one 3-pointer made. It also marks the first time the Red Storm has hit exactly one triple in a regular season conference win since toppling No. 14 Cincinnati, 53-52, on Jan. 5, 2013.
St. John's has won 14 straight games inside Carnesecca Arena dating back to the start of the 2023-24 season. It is tied for the eighth-longest winning streak inside its on-campus arena in program history.
The Red Storm forced 21 turnovers in the victory and registered 27 fastbreak points in transition.
The tandem of Luis and Richmond pushed the Red Storm out to an early lead. After a bucket from Richmond at the rim, Luis rattled off the next eight St. John's points, including a pair of wide-open dunks on feeds from Richmond for a 10-3 edge.
The Johnnies shined defensively by holding Butler scoreless through the first 5:17 of the game and limiting the Bulldogs to just one field goal in its first 16 attempts from the field. The Red Storm also registered five steals and three blocks through the first 11 minutes of the game.
After Butler closed the gap and took the lead with 13 unanswered points over the 3:26 span, Richmond nailed a midrange jumper and Sadiku Ibine Ayo drained a 3-pointer to halt the stretch and pulled St. John's back within one, 19-18, with just under four minutes to play in the first frame. St. John's trailed, 29-25, entering the break despite seven straight points from Smith to close the half.
The Johnnies saw its deficit grow to as many as seven to open the second stanza before running up 10 unanswered points over a span of 1:03 to reclaim its first lead, 39-36, since 8:35 of the first half. Ejiofor sparked the run with eight points of his own, including a pair of three-point plays. Luis also pickpocketed Kolby King during the stretch and threw down a pulverizing one-handed slam that sent the Carnesecca crowd into a frenzy.
While the Red Storm also increased its lead to as many as seven, Butler quickly responded with an 11-2 run capped off by back-to-back triples from Patrick McCaffery to claim a 49-47 advantage.
Both teams went back and forth over the next five minutes as St. John's and Butler exchanged three ties before the Red Storm captured an eight-point edge, 66-58, following an 11-3 run where Richmond registered five points of his own. The Johnnies increased its advantage to double digits down the stretch, only to see Butler's Brooks reach a team-best 17 points with a finish at the rim before time expired.
St. John's will hit the road to face Xavier on Tuesday evening. Tip-off from Cintas Center is slated for 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
Team Stats
Butler
SJU
FG%
.390
.366
3FG%
.350
.048
FT%
.450
.739
RB
47
46
TO
21
10
STL
8
14
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard/Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
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