Zuby Ejiofor scored six points in overtime for No. 17 St. John’s, which fended off an upset bid by Xavier to earn an 87-82 win in Big East action Monday night in New York.
The win was the 904th on-court victory for St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino, who snapped a tie with Roy Williams for third-place all-time. It was the second milestone victory for Rick Pitino over Xavier — coached by his son Richard — in 16 days. The Red Storm beat the Musketeers 88-83 on Jan. 24 for Rick Pitino’s 900th win.
The NCAA recognizes Rick Pitino with 781 wins after he was stripped of 123 victories due to violations at Louisville.
Ejiofor finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists for St. John’s (19-5, 12-1 Big East), which has won 10 straight — the third 10-game winning streak in the last two seasons under Rick Pitino.
Bryce Hopkins had 19 points, nine rebounds and two key overtime steals for the Red Storm. Dylan Darling had 16 points off the bench while starter Oziyah Sellers added 11 points.
St. John’s won despite shooting just 23.1% (3-of-13) from 3-point land and 68.3% (28-of-41) from the free-throw line.
Tre Carroll had 21 points and eight rebounds but missed a potential game-winning shot at the regulation buzzer for Xavier (12-12, 4-9 Big East), which has lost five of six.
Filip Borovicanin (12 points, 10 rebounds) posted a double-double. Jovan Milicevic had 13 points, Malik Messina-Moore had 11 and reserve Anthony Robinson added 10.
The Musketeers shot just 29.4% (5-of-17) from 3-point land and 52.9% (9-of-17) from the free-throw line.
Neither team had a lead of larger than five nor a run of longer than seven straight points during a back-and-forth contest that featured 15 ties and 15 lead changes.
Ejiofor and Borovicanin swapped baskets to open the extra session before Hopkins intercepted Isaiah Walker’s pass into the paint to set up the two free throws by Ejiofor that put St. John’s up for good at 82-80.
Borovicanin missed a layup and Hopkins split a pair of free throws before stealing the ball from Carroll to lead to two more free throws by Ejiofor with 2:07 left. Robinson’s jumper with 56 seconds left pulled Xavier within 85-82, but the teams traded empty trips before Sellers iced the win with a breakaway dunk with seven seconds remaining.
