KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Zuby Ejiofor posted career highs Saturday, scoring 28 points while grabbing 13 rebounds in St. John’s 88-71 win over Kansas State in a Big 12-Big East Battle contest.
Ejiofor finished 11-for-17 shooting, Kadary Richmond scored 13 points and RJ Luis Jr. and reserve Simeon Wilcher each scored 11 for St. John’s (7-2). The Red Storm had a 51-40 rebound advantage and a 17-10 edge in assists.
Brendan Hausen scored 21 of his 27 points before halftime, David N’Guessan scored 15 points and Coleman Hawkins had 11 and grabbed nine rebounds for the Wildcats (6-3).
In a game of runs, St. John’s ran away with it after halftime, starting with an 18-5 run over the first 4 1/2 minutes to go up 53-44 with consecutive 3-pointers from Luis and Aaron Scott. Ruben Prey’s 3-pointer gave the Red Storm a 62-50 lead at 11:01 to play and they led by double digits for the remainder. St. John’s scored 53 points in the second half.
The first half featured runs by both teams.
St. John’s used a 12-1 run turning a 16-7 deficit to a 19-17 lead; it’s first lead of the game. The Wildcats countered with a 14-2 outburst in which Hausen sank three 3-pointers and Max Jones added another for a 31-21 lead. St. John’s rallied with an 8-0 spurt that took just a little more than a minute to get within 31-28 with 3:42 left before halftime. The Wildcats led 39-35 at halftime.
It was the first time the two teams faced each other since Dec. 10, 1965, when then first-year head coach Lou Carnesseca led St. John’s to a 72-65 win. Carnesecca died at age 99 on Nov. 30.
