No. 7 St. John’s clinched its first outright regular-season Big East title since 1985, beating Seton Hall 71-61 on Saturday. RJ Luis Jr. scored 21 points to lead the Red Storm (26-4, 17-2) and Zuby Ejiofor added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The team improved to 18-0 at home in front of a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden. Coach Rick Pitino wore his signature white suit for the second straight season as the Red Storm secured their first conference title under his leadership.
Seton Hall, which concluded its worst season since 1982-83, was led by Dylan Addae-Wusu’s 18 points and Isaiah Coleman’s 15. The Pirates struggled to keep up with St. John’s in the final minutes after trailing by four points.
St. John’s shot just 43.4% but made significant strides from their free-throw shooting, converting at a 63.6% rate. Despite struggling early, the Red Storm took control of the game in the final minutes, capped off with Luis’ impressive dunk that put them ahead 59-52 with 6:43 remaining.
The win marked the team’s 26th victory of the season, setting up upcoming matchups against Creighton and Marquette.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/st-johns-seton-hall-score-22ba7fb472fba0607e9b5c2d222a8734