NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – No. 17/17 St. John’s needed overtime to dispatch Xavier, 87-82, on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in the second of two regular season matchups between head coaches Rick and Richard Pitino. It was the Red Storm’s first overtime game of the season.
St. John’s 87, Xavier 82 OT – Box Score
- Neither team led by more than five points in a game that saw 15 lead changes and 15 ties in 45 minutes of play.
- St. John’s extended its win streak to 10 games – currently the nation’s fourth-longest win streak. For the second straight season, SJU is 12-1 in BIG EAST play.
- Zuby Ejiofor led the Red Storm with 25 points (8-11 FG) to go with seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while Dylan Darling added 16 points and four assists.
- Both teams were efficient offensively in the first half, each connecting on better than 47% shooting through the first 20 minutes. The game was knotted at 42-42 at the break.
- In the second half, both teams traded baskets for the first 10 minutes until a quick 5-0 spurt gave the Musketeers a five-point lead (69-64) with 9:26 left in regulation.
- St. John’s countered with an 8-2 push, regaining the lead (72-71) with 5:42 left.
- X’s Tre Carroll put the Musketeers up 78-76 with 46 ticks left, but a putback by SJU’s Oziyah Sellers with 16 seconds remaining tied it at 78-78, forcing OT.
- Ejiofor scored six of SJU’s nine points in the extra frame, including making 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch.
- For the game, Bryce Hopkins tallied 19 points and nine boards for St. John’s, while Sellers finished with 11 points. Dillon Mitchell grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds
- Xavier had five players reach double digits, led by Tre Carroll’s 21 points – 17 coming in the second half. He also had eight rebounds and four assists.
- Jovan Milicevic finished with 13 points while Filip Borovicanin logged a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Malik Messina-Moore (11 points) and Anthony Robinson (10) rounded out the double digit scorers for the Musketeers.
Of Note:
- The margin of victory in the two games between the Pitino-coached teams was five points. SJU won, 88-83, on Jan. 24 in Cincinnati and prevailed 87-82 on Monday night at MSG
- The Red Storm are now 3-1 all-time in overtime games under Rick Pitino. The lone setback was a double OT loss against Baylor in the Baha Mar Classic in Nassau, Bahamas on Nov. 21, 2024.
- Xavier’s Tre Carroll passed the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career in the game.