NEW YORK (AP) – Zuby Ejiofor’s home run last season at St. John’s was truly memorable.
The senior had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in his first career double-double as the 15th-ranked Red Storm bounced back from an embarrassing loss by knocking off Villanova 89-57 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
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“It means everything to do this kind of performance, especially with my family in the crowd,” Ejiofor said.
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Ejiofor, who also had three blocks, had the fifth triple-double by a St. Louis player. John since the 1985-86 season, the school said. It was the second in 26 years, after Kadary Richmond got one in last year’s regular-season finale at Marquette.
Ejiofor, the preseason Big East player of the year, said it may have been his first triple in organized basketball.
“It’s amazing to have 5 guys on your team get 10 assists. But he’s the team leader in assists. And he was well rested because he took the day off against Connecticut,” Red Storm coach Rick Pitino said, prompting laughter at the postgame news conference.
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St. John’s was coming off Wednesday night’s 72-40 loss at No. 6 UConn, where the Johnnies shot 20 percent and missed their final 24 field-goal attempts in the final 17:27 for their biggest loss in three seasons under Pitino.
That ended a 13-game winning streak – the program’s longest in 41 years.
In a fast-paced first half, Ejiofor finished with six points, four rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes. He only took five shots from the field.
It was a very different story against Villanova
“You knew Zuby wasn’t going to go out and lay an egg,” said Wildcats coach Kevin Willard. “He was amazing defensively, the way he was changing, talking, talking. You have to give them a lot of credit. They played well.”
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With a sellout crowd of 19,812 knowing Ejiofor needed one more assist for the double, he capped it off by passing to Joson Sanon for a jumper with 3:12 left.
Soon after, Ejiofor was moved and impressed. He called it a “special time.”
“The last two things, I was just playing on offense,” Ejiofor said.
St. John’s plays its final home game of the regular season Tuesday night against Georgetown at The Garden, and Pitino urged fans to come out and honor the late Ejiofor on Senior Night.
“I became a man in this program. Coach Pitino, for the last three years now, has been guiding me through this whole program. Not just with the game of basketball, but just life in general. I’m really blessed to be able to wear this jersey every night,” said Ejiofor, his first backup in St. John’s after being transferred from Kansas.
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“Not just basketball, but I feel like I’ve grown up. I’ve grown up here in the last three years.”
Ian Jackson added 19 points and a career-high five steals off the bench for the Red Storm (23-6, 16-2 Big East), who jumped out to a 30-point lead in the first half and stayed a half-game behind UConn for the conference lead.
Villanova set a season low in scoring in its most offensive losses since a 93-56 blowout in February 1997 at No. 3 Kentucky, coached at the time by Pitino.
Oziyah Sellers scored 14 in the Johnnies’ big win over Villanova, their archrival. St. John leads 68-67 in the series dating back to the 1909-1910 season.
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Duke Brennan scored 10 of his 12 second-half points for the Wildcats (22-7, 13-5), who had won seven of eight. They will be the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament.
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