St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, January 3
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
12 p.m.
St. John's University
9-5,2-1Big East
71
vs
77
Providence
8-6,1-2Big East
1
2
F
Providence
31
46
77
St. John's (NY)
38
33
71
Photo by: Vincent Dusovic
RV/No. 25 St. John’s Falls to Providence, 77-71
1/3/2026 3:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Red Storm senior forward Zuby Ejiofor recorded 33 points and 15 rebounds on Saturday at MSG
NEW YORK - The RV/No. 25 St. John's men's basketball team dropped close contest on Saturday afternoon falling to Providence, 77-71, in front of a crowd of 19,047 at Madison Square Garden.
The Red Storm led for 36:05 minutes of game time in Midtown Manhattan and held a double-digit lead in the final eight minutes. The Friars clawed back ending the game on a 14-3 run featuring a go-ahead Stefan Vaaks 3-pointer with 1:57 to go.
Zuby Ejiofor delivered a monster performance tying a career-high 33 points and a personal best 15 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end. The senior became the first St. John's player to tally 30 points and 15 rebounds since Julian Champagnie went for 34 points and 16 boards in a win over DePaul on Jan. 5, 2022. He is just the second player in NCAA Division I this season to reach 30 points and 15 rebounds in a game, joining Texas Southern's Troy Hupstead.
The Garland, Texas native tied for highest single-game offensive rebounding total in the country this season grabbing 11 boards on that end of the floor. Ejiofor made a career-high 14 free throws and took 23 attempts, which ranks second most in St. John's Men's Basketball history trailing only Marcus Hatten who took 25 free throws against Connecticut on Feb. 9, 2002. Ejiofor drew 16 fouls during Saturday's contest.
St. John's forward Bryce Hopkins finished with nine points and a season-high 10 rebounds for the second consecutive game.
Providence had five players score in double-figures led by Vaaks, who finished with 16 points and shot 66.7 percent from 3-point range.
St. John's was dominant out of the gate on Saturday. Ejiofor opened the scoring with back-to-back triples from the top of the key. The explosive stretch continued as Ian Jackson swiped a steal and threw down a jam before Hopkins nailed a triple to build a 13-0 lead to start the game. The Friars were held scoreless for the opening 4:12 of the contest.
Later in the opening half, the Friars settled in trimming their deficit to three, 19-16, with 8:43 left in the period. Ejiofor erased the Providence 8-0 run with his personal best third triple of the afternoon to send the Johnnies up 22-16. The Friars, however, captured their first lead of the game with 5:42 in the first half, 24-22. Oziyah Sellers responded with long two-point jumper to knot the score as the two sides went back-and-forth.
In the closing minutes of the opening stanza, Ejiofor kept up his monster performance sinking back-to-back layup's as the Red Storm regathered the lead, 30-28. Lefteris Liotopoulos flushed the Johnnies fifth triple of the opening half before Sellers closed the scoring to bring the St. John's advantage to 38-31 heading into the locker room. Ejiofor finished the first half with 18 points and 11 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass.
The Friars chipped in the first five points of the second frame to make it a two-point game, 38-36, with 18:35 on the clock. Joson Sanon rattled home a triple in response. St. John's kept battling for second chance points, Liotopoulos knocked down another triple that sent the crowd into a roar and restored a double-digit cushion, 51-41.
As the Red Storm clung onto a single-digit lead midway through the second half, Hopkins provided a spark with a pair of lay-ups as the cushion ballooned back to double-figures, 62-52, with 7:52 remaining. The Friars came roaring back engineering an 8-0 stretch to climb within one, 64-63.
Ejiofor knocked down a floater and a Sellers bucket brought edge back to five, 68-63, with 3:19 to go. Providence's Vaaks completed a crucial four-point play that jumpstarted a 6-0 run that propelled Providence into the lead for the first time since the 3:46 mark in the first half, 69-68, with 2:25 remaining.
Jackson knocked down a pair from the charity stripe as St. John's retook the lead, 70-69, with 2:22 remaining. Vaaks responded with another crucial triple as the Friars led by two heading into the final two minutes. The Johnnies trailing by a possession were unable to convert on four shot attempts to tie or take the lead as the Friars took home the road victory.
Saturday's contest marked the eighth-straight meeting between St. John's and Providence that was decided by six points or fewer.
St. John's will be back in action on Tuesday when it visits Butler on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Network and Peacock.
The Red Storm led for 36:05 minutes of game time in Midtown Manhattan and held a double-digit lead in the final eight minutes. The Friars clawed back ending the game on a 14-3 run featuring a go-ahead Stefan Vaaks 3-pointer with 1:57 to go.
Zuby Ejiofor delivered a monster performance tying a career-high 33 points and a personal best 15 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end. The senior became the first St. John's player to tally 30 points and 15 rebounds since Julian Champagnie went for 34 points and 16 boards in a win over DePaul on Jan. 5, 2022. He is just the second player in NCAA Division I this season to reach 30 points and 15 rebounds in a game, joining Texas Southern's Troy Hupstead.
The Garland, Texas native tied for highest single-game offensive rebounding total in the country this season grabbing 11 boards on that end of the floor. Ejiofor made a career-high 14 free throws and took 23 attempts, which ranks second most in St. John's Men's Basketball history trailing only Marcus Hatten who took 25 free throws against Connecticut on Feb. 9, 2002. Ejiofor drew 16 fouls during Saturday's contest.
St. John's forward Bryce Hopkins finished with nine points and a season-high 10 rebounds for the second consecutive game.
Providence had five players score in double-figures led by Vaaks, who finished with 16 points and shot 66.7 percent from 3-point range.
St. John's was dominant out of the gate on Saturday. Ejiofor opened the scoring with back-to-back triples from the top of the key. The explosive stretch continued as Ian Jackson swiped a steal and threw down a jam before Hopkins nailed a triple to build a 13-0 lead to start the game. The Friars were held scoreless for the opening 4:12 of the contest.
Later in the opening half, the Friars settled in trimming their deficit to three, 19-16, with 8:43 left in the period. Ejiofor erased the Providence 8-0 run with his personal best third triple of the afternoon to send the Johnnies up 22-16. The Friars, however, captured their first lead of the game with 5:42 in the first half, 24-22. Oziyah Sellers responded with long two-point jumper to knot the score as the two sides went back-and-forth.
In the closing minutes of the opening stanza, Ejiofor kept up his monster performance sinking back-to-back layup's as the Red Storm regathered the lead, 30-28. Lefteris Liotopoulos flushed the Johnnies fifth triple of the opening half before Sellers closed the scoring to bring the St. John's advantage to 38-31 heading into the locker room. Ejiofor finished the first half with 18 points and 11 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass.
The Friars chipped in the first five points of the second frame to make it a two-point game, 38-36, with 18:35 on the clock. Joson Sanon rattled home a triple in response. St. John's kept battling for second chance points, Liotopoulos knocked down another triple that sent the crowd into a roar and restored a double-digit cushion, 51-41.
As the Red Storm clung onto a single-digit lead midway through the second half, Hopkins provided a spark with a pair of lay-ups as the cushion ballooned back to double-figures, 62-52, with 7:52 remaining. The Friars came roaring back engineering an 8-0 stretch to climb within one, 64-63.
Ejiofor knocked down a floater and a Sellers bucket brought edge back to five, 68-63, with 3:19 to go. Providence's Vaaks completed a crucial four-point play that jumpstarted a 6-0 run that propelled Providence into the lead for the first time since the 3:46 mark in the first half, 69-68, with 2:25 remaining.
Jackson knocked down a pair from the charity stripe as St. John's retook the lead, 70-69, with 2:22 remaining. Vaaks responded with another crucial triple as the Friars led by two heading into the final two minutes. The Johnnies trailing by a possession were unable to convert on four shot attempts to tie or take the lead as the Friars took home the road victory.
Saturday's contest marked the eighth-straight meeting between St. John's and Providence that was decided by six points or fewer.
St. John's will be back in action on Tuesday when it visits Butler on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Network and Peacock.
Team Stats
PROV
SJU
FG%
.391
.282
3FG%
.333
.226
FT%
.750
.649
RB
44
51
TO
12
12
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
33
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
14
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's BasketballForward/ Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
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