St. John's coasts past Providence in Big East Tournament quarterfinals
St. John's forward Bryce Hopkins dunks against Providence in the Big East men’s basketball tournament quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The eagerly awaited third contest between St. John’s and Providence this season turned out to be no contest at all.
The top-seeded Red Storm blitzed the ninth-seeded Friars right out of the gate by scoring 20 of the game’s first 25 points, extended the margin to as much as 23 in the first half and then quickly repelled a second-half comeback attempt for an 85-72 win in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday before a sellout crowd of 19,812 at the Garden.
Providence wasn’t able to pull off an upset as it did in the teams' first meeting at the Garden on Jan. 3. And there were no fireworks as there were when they played at Providence on Feb. 14, when Duncan Powell clotheslined Bryce Hopkins to set off a melee and a total of seven players were ejected.
Zuby Ejiofor had 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Hopkins had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Oziyah Sellers and Ian Jackson each added 14 points for the Red Storm (27-5), who will play a semifinal Friday at 5:30 p.m. against the winner of Creighton vs. Seton Hall this afternoon.
Stefan Vaaks had 23 points and Jaylin Sellers 21 for Providence (15-18) in the final game for coach Kim English, who it has been announced will not return for next season.
St. John’s, ranked 13th in the nation, was nothing short of sensational in the first half. Its defense held a Friars team that made 14 three-pointers in a first-round win over Butler on Wednesday without a single one in the first 20 minutes and forced eight turnovers that it turned into a dozen points. St. John's outrebounded Providence 26-13 in the half, and Storm reserves outscored the Friars' bench 16-0.
Ejiofor and Hopkins had six points apiece and Dillon Mitchell four and the Storm held Providence to 1-for-9 shooting as they broke out to a 20-5 lead after just 6:54.
Hopkins scored on three straight St. John’s possessions late in the half in a 9-4 run for a 46-23 lead en route to a 48-27 halftime edge. It matched the program’s biggest halftime lead in a Big East Tournament game, first done in 2003 against Notre Dame.
Providence did make a charge after the break but trailed by double digits all of the final 20 minutes. It got within 65-53 when Vaaks made a long three-pointer and got fouled with 9:49 to play. He missed the free throw and St. John’s answered with a Ruben Prey three-point play.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
