Zuby Ejiofor totaled 22 points and 10 rebounds as St. John’s struggled on defense at times before pulling away in the second half for a 99-77 victory over visiting Bryant on Wednesday night in New York.
Ejiofor followed up his career-high 28-point showing in the Red Storm’s 88-71 win over Kansas State on Saturday by shooting 7-for-10 from the floor and 8-for-12 from the free-throw line. He scored 14 points after halftime, including seven in the Red Storm’s decisive 17-2 run that turned a 54-53 lead into a 71-55 edge with 10:43 left.
The junior forward posted his second straight double-double, his fourth of the season.
Aaron Scott added 17 points and 10 rebounds to help the Red Storm (8-2) to a 44-30 advantage on the glass. RJ Luis Jr. added 17 points while Simeon Wilcher and Deivon Smith contributed 14 apiece for St. John’s, which shot 50 percent from the field, scored 54 points in the paint and finished with at least 90 points for the fourth time this season.
Keyshawn Mitchell amassed 21 points and 12 boards for Bryant (6-6), which was outscored 45-24 over the final 15 minutes. Barry Evans added 14 points and Jakai Robinson contributed 13, but leading scorer Rafael Pinzon (19.6 ppg entering play) was held to nine.
Bryant shot 49.1 percent from the floor but committed 19 turnovers.
The Bulldogs took a 22-21 lead on a 3-pointer by Mitchell, but St. John’s charged to a seven-point lead when Ejiofor found Scott for a layup with 3:22 remaining in the half. The Red Storm were up 45-41 at halftime.
The Bulldogs tied the game twice in the opening two minutes of the second half and forced St John’s to burn a 30-second timeout. Bryant also trailed 58-55 after Kvonn Cramer’s layup with 12:56 left before the Red Storm recorded the next 13 points to take a 16-point edge with just under 11 minutes left following consecutive hoops by Scott.
St John’s upped its lead to 75-56 with 8:51 to go on a basket by Kadary Richmond. Brady Dunlap’s 3-pointer opened a 20-point lead 32 seconds later, and the Red Storm were never threatened again.
