St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, November 8
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
12 p.m.
St. John's University
1-1,0-0Big East
96
vs
103
No. 15/16 Alabama
2-0,0-0SEC
1
2
F
Alabama
53
50
103
St. John's (NY)
44
52
96
No. 5/6 St. John’s Falls to No. 15/16 Alabama in High-Scoring Affair at Madison Square Garden, 103-96
11/8/2025 3:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Zuby Ejiofor finished with a 27-point, 10-rebound double-double on Saturday
NEW YORK – The No. 5/6 St. John's (1-1) dropped a top-15 battle to No. 15/16 Alabama (2-0), 103-96, on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm rallied back from a second half double-digit deficit but ultimately fell as Alabama engineered a crucial 14-1 scoring run late in the contest.
Zuby Ejiofor led all players with a 27-point, 10-rebound double-double, including a personal best 21 points in the opening 20 minutes. The big man was efficient offensively, shooting 9-for-12 from the field (75%), 2-for-3 from long-range (66.7%), and 7-for-10 (70%) from the free throw line. The 27 points were the senior's third highest scoring total of his career.
Bryce Hopkins added 19 points, surpassing his scoring total from his Red Storm debut just seven minutes into the contest. Ian Jackson and Oziyah Sellers both finished in double-digits adding 14 points apiece. The backcourt tandem each logged 12 points in the second half.
Alabama's talented guard duo of Aden Holloway (21) and Labaron Philon Jr. (25) combined for 46 points, 19 made field goals and just one turnover.
The Johnnies frontcourt of Ejiofor and Hopkins carried the offense in the early going. Hopkins flushed a pair of buckets from inside the paint before Ejiofor went on a 5-0 solo spurt. Ejiofor knocked down a triple from the top of the key before slamming one home as the Red Storm held a 9-7 edge with 16:24 on the clock. The Crimson Tide made four of their five next attempts spurring on an 8-0 run to grab a six-point lead. However, Hopkins' and-one lifted the Red Storm back into the lead, 16-15. Hopkins and Ejiofor combined for all of St. John's first 16 points.
St. John's held a 38-37 advantage with 4:27 to go in the first half, but the Crimson Tide ended the stanza on a 16-6 run. It was capped off by a triple from Latrell Wrightsell Jr. to give the Alabama a nine-point cushion, 53-44, heading into halftime.
The Johnnies hit six of their first eight field goal attempts to start off the second half to make it a two-point game. Sellers ended a 6-0 spurt with a fastbreak finish at 16:47 mark. Alabama responded with a 9-0 run in just over a minute span to claim an 11-point lead, its largest of the game to that point.
The Red Storm clawed its way back into the contest getting within five after Ruben Prey dialed home a 3-pointer midway through the second half. Sellers then drove into the lane drawing contact on a lay-up for an and-one to send the MSG faithful of 17,319 on hand into a roar. The run continued as Joson Sanon buried a corner 3-pointer to give St. John's its first lead since the 4:27 mark in the first half. The triple gave the Johnnies a one-point edge, 81-80, with 8:13 remaining.
The two top-15 teams went back-and-forth as there were six lead changes over a three-minute span down the stretch. Sellers flushed a mid-range jumper from the free throw line which proved to be St. John's final lead of the outing, 87-86, with 6:09 remaining.
The Crimson Tide's offense answered with a crucial 14-1 run, as Philon netted seven points during the span. Alabama then opened its largest advantage of the game, 100-88, with 1:44 left on the clock. Ejiofor closed out a 6-0 spurt with a triple to bring the deficit to six, 100-94, with 47 seconds to go but that was as close as the Red Storm would get.
St. John's will be back in action on Saturday when the Red Storm host William & Mary at 6 p.m. inside Carnesecca Arena.
Zuby Ejiofor led all players with a 27-point, 10-rebound double-double, including a personal best 21 points in the opening 20 minutes. The big man was efficient offensively, shooting 9-for-12 from the field (75%), 2-for-3 from long-range (66.7%), and 7-for-10 (70%) from the free throw line. The 27 points were the senior's third highest scoring total of his career.
Bryce Hopkins added 19 points, surpassing his scoring total from his Red Storm debut just seven minutes into the contest. Ian Jackson and Oziyah Sellers both finished in double-digits adding 14 points apiece. The backcourt tandem each logged 12 points in the second half.
Alabama's talented guard duo of Aden Holloway (21) and Labaron Philon Jr. (25) combined for 46 points, 19 made field goals and just one turnover.
The Johnnies frontcourt of Ejiofor and Hopkins carried the offense in the early going. Hopkins flushed a pair of buckets from inside the paint before Ejiofor went on a 5-0 solo spurt. Ejiofor knocked down a triple from the top of the key before slamming one home as the Red Storm held a 9-7 edge with 16:24 on the clock. The Crimson Tide made four of their five next attempts spurring on an 8-0 run to grab a six-point lead. However, Hopkins' and-one lifted the Red Storm back into the lead, 16-15. Hopkins and Ejiofor combined for all of St. John's first 16 points.
St. John's held a 38-37 advantage with 4:27 to go in the first half, but the Crimson Tide ended the stanza on a 16-6 run. It was capped off by a triple from Latrell Wrightsell Jr. to give the Alabama a nine-point cushion, 53-44, heading into halftime.
The Johnnies hit six of their first eight field goal attempts to start off the second half to make it a two-point game. Sellers ended a 6-0 spurt with a fastbreak finish at 16:47 mark. Alabama responded with a 9-0 run in just over a minute span to claim an 11-point lead, its largest of the game to that point.
The Red Storm clawed its way back into the contest getting within five after Ruben Prey dialed home a 3-pointer midway through the second half. Sellers then drove into the lane drawing contact on a lay-up for an and-one to send the MSG faithful of 17,319 on hand into a roar. The run continued as Joson Sanon buried a corner 3-pointer to give St. John's its first lead since the 4:27 mark in the first half. The triple gave the Johnnies a one-point edge, 81-80, with 8:13 remaining.
The two top-15 teams went back-and-forth as there were six lead changes over a three-minute span down the stretch. Sellers flushed a mid-range jumper from the free throw line which proved to be St. John's final lead of the outing, 87-86, with 6:09 remaining.
The Crimson Tide's offense answered with a crucial 14-1 run, as Philon netted seven points during the span. Alabama then opened its largest advantage of the game, 100-88, with 1:44 left on the clock. Ejiofor closed out a 6-0 spurt with a triple to bring the deficit to six, 100-94, with 47 seconds to go but that was as close as the Red Storm would get.
St. John's will be back in action on Saturday when the Red Storm host William & Mary at 6 p.m. inside Carnesecca Arena.
Team Stats
UA
SJU
FG%
.481
.492
3FG%
.314
.353
FT%
.636
.700
RB
43
42
TO
7
12
STL
9
4
Game Leaders
Pts
27
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Forward
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