St. John’s men’s basketball wins first Big East Tournament title since 2000 with big second half versus Creighton

The Red Storm ran up 57 second-half points on the Bluejays to claim their first Big East tournament crown in a quarter-century

Twenty-five long years of waiting came to an end on Saturday night. In front of an ear-splittingly loud Madison Square Garden crowd decked in red, the St. John’s Red Storm rallied in the second half versus the Creighton Blue Jays to win 82-66 and claim their first Big East Tournament championship since 2000.

In a season full of come-from-behind wins and late rallies, there was no other way Saturday’s Big East Tournament title game could have ended for the Red Storm. Creighton socked St. John’s in the mouth with a 10-2 early run, and the Red Storm struggled to keep pace and find the bottom of the basket. The Johnnies’ star trio of Kadary Richmond, RJ Luis Jr., and Zuby Ejiofor were held to a combined 13 points in the first half.

As they have done on what seems like a nightly basis, St. John’s weathered an early scoring slump, grew into the game, and wore down their opposition before breaking away with a big second-half run.

Referee James Breeding charged RJ Luis, Jr. with a questionable technical foul after the Red Storm’s star wing drilled a triple and pointed three fingers out in celebration with 10:21 left in the second half. Steven Ashworth sank the two technical free throws, shaving the St. John’s lead to 52-50.

Instead of wilting in a precarious moment when a terrible call went against them, that moment galvanized the Red Storm.

From that point, St. John’s finished the game on a 30-16 run, making fourteen straight shots in an eight-minute stretch in what must have felt like an avalanche for the Bluejays. After trailing 28-25 at halftime and only shooting 33.3% from the floor, the Johnnies scored 57 second-half points and shot an eye-popping 23-of-32 from the floor in the second half (71.9%).

RJ Luis, Jr. took complete control of the second half, scoring 27 of his team-high 29 points after the intermission, winning the Big East Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award for his efforts this week. Zuby Ejiofor asserted himself similarly, scoring 13 of his 20 total points in the second half.

The St. John’s Red Storm (30-4) will have less than 24 hours to celebrate before they find out what seed they will have and where they will be playing in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Selection Show on Sunday (6 p.m., CBS).