Zuby Ejiofor delivered the game of his life.
But it wasn’t enough for St. John’s to stave off an improbable Providence comeback.
St. John’s blew a double-digit second half lead in Saturday afternoon’s 77-71 loss to Providence at Madison Square Garden.
Stefan Vaaks drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:57 remaining, giving the Friars a 72-70 lead.
That came two possessions after Vaaks completed a four-point play that cut Providence’s deficit to one.
Vaaks added an assist and a lay-up on Providence’s final two possessions to ice the win.
The second-half collapse squandered a dominant double-double from Ejiofor, who matched a career high with 33 points and set a career high with 15 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards.
A three-point play by former Friars star Bryce Hopkins gave St. John’s a 62-52 lead with 7:52 left in the second half. But Providence ended the game on a 25-9 run, dealing St. John’s (9-5; 2-1 vs. Big East) its first loss of conference play.
St. John’s has blown a second-half lead in all five of its losses.
The Johnnies shot just 28% from the field, 23% on 3-pointers and 65% on free throws.
Ejiofor made a 3-pointer on both of the Red Storm’s first two possessions, setting the tone as St. John’s opened the game on a 13-0 run.
But Providence closed the gap against the St. John’s second unit, using an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 19-16.
Ejiofor followed with a 3-pointer with 8:28 left in the half to boost the St. John’s lead back to six, but Providence continued to chip away. A tip-in lay-up by Jamier Jones gave Providence its first lead, 25-24, with 4:44 remaining before halftime.
The game became contentious less than 30 seconds later, as Ejiofor leapt for an offensive rebound and took a hard hit from Providence’s Duncan Powell, sending Ejiofor to the floor.
That led to an animated shoving match between players from both teams in front of the Providence bench, with Jones stepping in the middle as an agitated Ejiofor exchanged words with Powell.
But St. John’s regrouped after the brief brouhaha, ending the half on a 12-3 run — punctuated by an Oziyah Sellers 3-pointer in the waning seconds — to take a 38-31 lead into the break.
Ejiofor finished the first half with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting (3-of-3 on 3-pointers) and 11 rebounds, including nine offensive boards.
For the game, Ejiofor shot 8-of-16 but committed seven turnovers and went 14-of-23 from the free throw line.
Facing his former team for the first time, Hopkins finished with nine points on 3-of-13 shooting and 10 rebounds.
Hopkins spent the previous three seasons at Providence before transferring to St. John’s in the offseason.
The senior forward made the All-Big East first team with the Friars in 2022-23, but he totaled only 17 games over his final two seasons at Providence due to a January 2024 left ACL tear and a bone bruise in the same knee.
Hopkins’ departure made him a villain to the Providence faithful, and he heard boos from a solid contingent of Friars fans throughout Saturday’s game at the Garden.
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for St. John’s. Next, the Red Storm return to the road to face Butler on Tuesday night.
