St. John's begins second half with 27-2 run, blows out William & Mary
St. John's Red Storm forward Bryce Hopkins attempts a shot defended by William & Mary Tribe forward Jo'El Emanuel in the first half of an NCAA men’s basketball game at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It probably took longer than it should have against a prohibitive underdog in William & Mary, but St. John’s finally started to play up to its No. 13 national ranking on Saturday night.
The Red Storm underwhelmed in the first 20 minutes and led by only five points at halftime. Coming out of the break, however, they looked like the big-time force they are supposed to be.
St. John’s scored 27 of the first 29 points in the second half and rolled to a 93-60 nonconference win before a sellout crowd of 5,260 at Carnesecca Arena.
The Red Storm (2-1) were something to behold as they turned a close game into a 30-point margin in 6:32. Dylan Darling ignited the 27-2 run with two baskets and a pair of assists as St. John’s scored its first 10 points, and the defense held William & Mary to 1-for-6 shooting and recorded nine turnovers.
Lefteris Liotopoulos’ jumper with 13:28 to play capped the run and gave St. John’s a 66-36 lead.
William & Mary was 7-for-19 on three-pointers in the first half and 2-for-10 after the break as St. John’s turned up the defense.
“I just think we didn’t guard the three very well,” Rick Pitino said. “We weren’t very active with our hands. The second half, we got much more active.”
Bryce Hopkins and Joson Sanon both finished with 15 points and Zuby Ejiofor had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, but the biggest development of the night for the Red Storm might have been a new alignment in the backcourt.
Pitino gave Darling, the team’s only prototypical point guard, his first start in a Red Storm uniform and paired him with Oziyah Sellers, who started the first two games at point guard. That gave St. John’s a press-breaking ballhandler and allowed Sellers, whom Pitino called “our best shooter” at a news conference on Friday, the freedom to be the scorer he’s always been.
Sellers had 13 points and a team-high three three-pointers in six attempts. He began to assert himself as a scorer in the second half of the previous Saturday’s loss to Alabama, and when Pitino was asked about that Friday, he replied, “He has to shoot more open threes. He’s our best shooter by far. His numbers are scary in player development sessions — it’s the best I’ve seen since I’ve been a coach — but he doesn’t take enough threes.”
Darling had 13 points, four steals, three assists and one turnover in 31 minutes.
“Dylan’s a great point guard,” Sellers said. “He has great vision, so I feel like whenever I’m playing with him, he definitely finds ways to get me open. And I’m also used to playing off ball, so I feel natural playing that as well.”
Said Pitino, “I loved it — I thought they did a great job.” Asked if he could envision them starting together going forward, he replied, “Yeah, I think so.”
A move like that would mean Arizona State transfer Sanon and North Carolina transfer Ian Jackson — perhaps the two Red Storm players with the highest ceilings — would play off the bench unless Pitino opts for a three-guard lineup.
“I try to play the best players regardless of reputation — told this to Joson and Ian the other day,” Pitino said. “I said, ‘I’m not coaching by reputation. You’re all new to me . . . I don’t care what you did in high school. I don’t care what you did [at] Arizona State or North Carolina. I just care about what you do in practice.’ So I’m going to play the best five guys.
“It’s not about who is going to start [because] they’re all going to play. Sometimes you’re going to need Joson and Ian more than Oziyah and Dylan, depending on who you’re playing.”
Darling transferred from Idaho State, where he was the 2025 Big Sky Player of the Year, and brought a toughness he credits to his father, James, who played 10 seasons in the NFL with the Eagles, Jets and Cardinals. He’s been unfazed playing up a level.
“He’s 5-11 and he’s tough as nails,” Pitino said. “[He] broke the pressure, played a lot of minutes. I love his toughness. I love his ability. He’s got great moxie. He’s afraid of nothing. He has no fear at all of who he’s playing against. He thinks he’s the best player on the court.”
He added, “Dylan was magnificent tonight at breaking pressure, doing great things, and [making] us so much of a better basketball team.”
Said Darling, “I try to bring as much energy as I can. I think that’s kind of what I’m best at. And I just try to make winning plays, try to bring energy and make the right play to help lead our team to a victory.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
