A sold-out Madison Sq. Backyard crowd on its ft.
“Let’s Go Johnnies,” chants bouncing off the constructing’s partitions.
A gritty victory that can go a great distance towards St. John’s successful its first Massive East common season crown since 1986.
This was the dream when the Purple Storm employed Rick Pitino.
Lower than two years later, it was a actuality Sunday afternoon.
The ninth-ranked Johnnies at the moment are within the driver’s seat within the Massive East, two video games within the loss column up on Creighton and Marquette after this hard-fought, 79-73 victory over the No. 24-ranked Bluejays.
It was protection that once more was the distinction, St. John’s holding Creighton to 35 p.c taking pictures after halftime and turning 15 turnovers into 20 factors.
Over the ultimate 14:51, the Bluejays managed simply 16 factors.
With the win, St. John’s notched its highest victory complete for the reason that 1999-2000 season.
It responded to the loss at Villanova by avenging its different convention loss, to Creighton on New Yr’s Eve.
RJ Luis added to his Massive East Participant of the Yr candidacy with 23 factors, 14 rebounds and 5 assists.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS
Kadary Richmond had 19 factors and 10 rebounds and Zuby Ejiofor adopted with 18 factors, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
Deivon Smith was surprisingly obtainable and offered vitality off the bench, notching eight factors and three assists.
St. John’s constructed a seven-point lead on the energy of an 18-6 run.
Luis’ floater with 4:38 left made it 66-59. Neal answered with a 3-pointer.
At that very same level, Ryan Kalkbrenner returned after lacking over six minutes of motion with a foot damage.
The lead was eight after Simeon Wilcher discovered Aaron Scott for a layup.
The Backyard was exploding and a path to a Massive East title was now clear.
