Wednesday night’s victory was a microcosm of St. John’s season up to this point: Slow starts and fast finishes.
The Johnnies have frequently had shaky first halves and strong performances after halftime. Their third straight win followed a similar pattern.
They were sluggish over the first 20 minutes, their defense was a step slow and they were soft on the glass.
Bryant on Dec. 11, 2024. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Then, a switch flipped. St. John’s shook Bryant with a furious 21-3 run that turned a one-point lead into a 19-point bulge with 8:48 to go.
It was academic from that point on, the Johnnies cruising to a 99-77 victory at Carnesecca Arena.
“We always preach that we’re going to come in every single game and play two halves. For some reason, we haven’t been doing that,” said forward Zuby Ejiofor, who again led the way, continuing his recent run of dominance with 22 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. “The second half has been totally different from the first. That’s something that we really got to work on.”
Coach Rick Pitino doesn’t see it as simple as his team turning it on in the second half of these games.
Basketball, he emphasized, is a game of runs.
What’s important is St. John’s doesn’t panic when it finds itself in a close game. It didn’t happen against Bryant, either.
“We played excellent on offense and we struggled a little bit guarding the basketball defensively. But that’s more their ability than our inability,” Pitino said of Bryant (6-6), which entered the matchup 32nd in the country in points scored (84.4). “Basketball is a game of runs, and as long as you have a run to win the game like we did, that’s a good thing.”
RJ Luis and Aaron Scott (10 rebounds) each had 17 points and Simeon Wilcher and Deivon Smith followed with 14 apiece.
All told, they have outscored the opposition by 99 points after the break, the lone anomaly the double-overtime loss to Baylor when they were minus-14 in the second half.
It happened against Kansas State on Saturday, when St. John’s (8-2) exploded for 53 points, and in several of its buy games — contests in which a lower-level opponent are paid to make the trip to Queens.
The Johnnies have regularly come out with a different level of focus, intensity and resolve. They are only allowing an average of 34.7 points in the second half this year.
It was the case again against Bryant.
After halftime, St. John’s was plus-14 on the glass, plus-10 in the paint and forced Bryant into 11 turnovers.
The Red Storm showed up, after treating the first 25 minutes or so like it was a scrimmage, outscoring the America East foe, 54-36, after halftime.
“We all want to win,” Ejiofor said. “There’s a mindset change that we’re going to come out in the second half and we’re going to play defense and we’re going to play for each other.”
The game turned on that 21-3 run that included nine points from Ejiofor. Most importantly, the defense stepped to the forefront.
Now, St. John’s has six days off before Big East play begins, with DePaul visiting Carnesecca Arena on Tuesday night.
The Johnnies have had a solid nonconference season, winning eight times by at least 13 points while dropping two by a combined four points to projected tournament teams Baylor and Georgia.
“I think,” Pitino said, “we’re more than ready.”