New York, NY — When the St. John’s Red Storm needed a steadying moment late in their semifinal matchup with the Seton Hall Pirates, Zuby Ejiofor delivered.
Seton Hall had trimmed a once-comfortable St. John’s lead to six points with 4:41 remaining, energizing the crowd at Madison Square Garden. The momentum, however, didn’t last long.
Ejiofor quickly shifted the game back in the Red Storm’s favor. He scored inside and followed with a key block on the defensive end. Moments later, Joson Sanon knocked down two free throws, Dillon Mitchell forced a steal and Bryce Hopkins added two more points from the line. The sequence sparked a decisive 7–0 run that helped St. John’s secure a 78–68 victory Friday night.
The win sends St. John’s back to the championship game of the Big East Tournament for the second consecutive year — the program’s first back-to-back title game appearances since the 1999–2000 seasons.
“I live for these moments,” said Ejiofor, the conference’s Player of the Year. “Having the chance to win and move forward is what it’s all about.”
Ejiofor led the Red Storm with 20 points and five rebounds, improving his career Big East Tournament record to 6–1. Sanon contributed 15 points off the bench, while Mitchell and Hopkins each scored 13 while filling the stat sheet with rebounds and assists.
Seton Hall was paced by Adam Clark, who finished with 17 points and 11 assists. The loss dropped the Pirates to 21–12 and likely ended their hopes of an at-large berth in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
St. John’s set the tone early, mirroring its strong start from the previous round against the Providence Friars. The Red Storm opened with an 8–0 run, scoring entirely in the paint, and their first 20 points all came near the basket.
Seton Hall kept the game close through the first half, but St. John’s created separation with an 11–0 run fueled largely by Sanon’s scoring. That push helped the Red Storm carry an eight-point lead into halftime.
Another surge early in the second half widened the margin. St. John’s opened the period by scoring on its first four possessions while holding the Pirates scoreless through their first five trips down the floor, stretching the lead to 19.
“Can’t start the half the way we did,” Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway said afterward. “You can’t give a good team that kind of cushion.”
Seton Hall struggled to generate offense for much of the half, scoring just six points during the first 11 minutes after the break. Still, the Pirates mounted one last push, trimming the deficit to six after a three-pointer by AJ Staton-McCray with 4:41 left.
But Ejiofor’s response quickly halted the comeback and restored control for St. John’s.
Now the Red Storm (27–6) turn their attention to Saturday night’s championship game, where they will face the UConn Huskies, who defeated the Georgetown Hoyas in the other semifinal.
Head coach Rick Pitino said the team plans to approach the title game with the same intensity that fueled its late-season surge.
“We’re playing for a championship,” Pitino said after St. John’s earned its 18th win in the last 19 games. “We treated the regular season title like everything was on the line. Tomorrow will be the same.”
