No. 10/9 St. John’s Rolls Past DePaul, 82-58

Wednesday, February 19

Chicago, Ill. (Wintrust Arena)

9 p.m.

St. John's University

23-4,14-2Big East

DePaul

11-16,2-14Big East

St. John's (NY)

DePaul

2/20/2025 12:22:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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Sadiku Ibine Ayo recorded a career-high 15 points to help lead the Red Storm to its sixth BIG EAST road win on Wednesday

CHICAGO – Deivon Smith led four St. John's players in double figures with a game-high 18 points to help the No. 10/9 Red Storm men's basketball team (23-4, 14-2 BIG EAST) roll to an 82-58 victory at DePaul (11-16, 2-14 BIG EAST) on Wednesday. It marked the Johnnies' sixth BIG EAST road victory and 14^th conference win on the season, matching the most for the program since the 1998-99 campaign.

Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor both finished one rebound shy of recording double-doubles for the Johnnies. Richmond registered 17 points on 8-for-14 shooting to go with nine rebounds and five assists without a turnover. Ejiofor posted 13 points, nine boards, three assists and a pair of blocks.

In just his fifth collegiate start and first at St. John's, Sadiku Ibine Ayo went for a career night in the Windy City. The junior captain finished with 15 points, including 13 in the first half shooting 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.

As a team, St. John's shot 46.4 percent (32-69 FG) from the floor, including a 9-for-21 (42.9 pct) effort from 3-point range. Smith matched Ibine Ayo with three 3-pointers while Simeon Wilcher shot 2-for-3 from distance and finished with eight points.

Aaron Scott reached the 1,000-career point mark early in the first half with a 3-pointer from the corner. Freshman forward Ruben Prey recorded with four points and a season-high eight rebounds in 21 minutes off the St. John's bench.

The Johnnies broke the game open with an 11-0 run in just over three minutes late in the first half to take a 31-20 advantage. Ibine Ayo broke the 20-20 tie with a triple and then it was Wilcher who capped the spurt with a 3-pointer at the 5:18 mark to give St. John's a double-digit advantage.

The Red Storm extend its lead to 41-25 at halftime, thanks to a hot shooting performance from downtown going 7-for-12 from distance. St. John's forced DePaul into 11 of its 16 turnovers in the first half and converted the mishaps into 16 points.

Richmond scored seven of St. John's first nine points of the second half, giving the Johnnies a 21-point advantage with a fastbreak layup at the 16:59 mark. The Red Storm cruised the rest of the period as it built its lead as large as 27 with just over one minute to play on a pair of free-throws by Ibine Ayo.

St. John's out rebounded the Blue Demons, 45-29, while holding DePaul to shoot just 32.7 percent (18-55 FG) from the floor. For the seventh time this season, the Johnnies defense held its opponent below 60 points.

The Red Storm will return to action on Sunday when it hosts RV/RV Connecticut before a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. FOX will carry the national telecast at 12 p.m. live from Midtown Manhattan.