St. John's claws back in second half but falls to No. 15 Alabama
St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor, right, chasing down a lose ball against Alabama’s Amari Allen at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Saturday afternoon represented St. John’s first true test in its quest to cement itself as a national contender in Year Three under Rick Pitino.
The game between No. 15 Alabama and the fifth-ranked Red Storm in front of 17,319 at an electric Madison Square Garden was about as good as any college basketball game in early November can get. St. John’s survived constant bursts from the high-octane, rapid-tempo Alabama offense, but it ultimately could not survive the final blow late in the second half of a 103-96 non-conference home loss.
Oziyah Sellers’ jumper gave St. John’s an 87-86 edge with 6:09 left, but Taylor Bol Bowen’s three-pointer with 5:44 remaining gave Alabama the lead for good at 89-87 and began a 14-1 run that made it 100-88 with 1:44 left.
Late in the game, St. John’s went 4:47 without a field goal — from Sellers’ go-ahead jumper to Ian Jackson’s layup that made it 100-90 with 1:22 left. Zuby Ejiofor's three-pointer with 47 seconds left cut the deficit to 100-94.
“I told them in the locker room, ‘Look, they were the better team tonight. Don't hang your heads. They were the better team. They outplayed us,’ ” Pitino said. “But we played hard. We did a lot of good things. It was exciting basketball in Madison Square Garden for the second game of the season . . . I think we have the potential to be an outstanding basketball team. But as a coach, a head coach, I need to find out where our deficiencies lie, and I found out tonight.
“I also found out that they’re a group of guys that want to win badly. They just didn't know how to do it tonight.”
Ejiofor had 27 points, including 21 in the first half, and 10 rebounds to lead St. John’s (1-1). Bryce Hopkins scored 19, 15 in the first half, and Jackson and Sellers each added 14, 12 apiece in the second half. St. John's shot 28-for-40 from the free-throw line to Alabama's 14-for-22.
Labaron Philon Jr. scored 25 points, Aden Holloway had 21 and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had 17 as the dynamic guard trio paced the Crimson Tide (2-0). Bol Bowen, a 6-10 forward, also had 17 points along with nine rebounds. Alabama scored 54 points in the paint, including 18 layups and three dunks.
“It was poor tonight,” Ejiofor said of the defense. “The coaching staff, I think, did a great job of telling us exactly what needed to be done to come out with a win today, and we didn't execute on that. And that starts with me. So I got to do a better job, especially as the captain and leader of this team, to make sure guys’ heads are right and we're really focused on what it takes to win this game.”
Said Pitino: “We could not guard them off the dribble. Very few teams can.”
Saturday marked the first time St. John’s scored at least 96 points in a regulation game and lost since a 113-97 loss to Syracuse on Dec. 30, 1965 — Lou Carnesecca’s first year as coach.
Alabama led the country in adjusted tempo last season, according to KenPom, so the frantic pace was far from a surprise.
Alabama went ahead 73-62 with 13:08 left and 80-73 with 9:25 remaining. The Red Storm answered with an 8-0 run in the next 1:12 — featuring a dunk by Dillon Mitchell, a three-point play by Sellers and a three-pointer by Joson Sanon — to grab an 81-80 lead with 8:13 remaining. It was their first lead since they went ahead 38-37 with 4:27 left in the first half.
Holloway knocked down a corner three-pointer right before the first-half buzzer, giving Alabama a 53-44 halftime lead. Outside of Ejiofor and Hopkins, who totaled all but eight of the Red Storm's points, St. John’s shot 1-for-12 in the first 20 minutes.
St. John’s last two losses have come to SEC foes, the other a 75-66 upset loss to 10th-seeded Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last March. It will play two more SEC teams this season: Ole Miss at the Garden on Dec. 6 and No. 9 Kentucky in Atlanta on Dec. 20.
The Red Storm will not face another high-major opponent until Nov. 24, a matchup with No. 16 Iowa State in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.
“We learned a lot tonight,” Pitino said. “Disappointed we lost, but we certainly learned a lot and we'll get better from it.”
Notes & quotes: The Red Storm were without reserve guard Dylan Darling (calf strain), the 2025 Big Sky Player of the Year at Idaho State. Pitino expects him back for their next game, against William & Mary at Carnesecca Arena next Saturday, but said: “If we need to rest him even longer, we will.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
