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The Johnnies returned to Madison Square Garden after two impressive away wins against Butler and Creighton. Their opponent was the Golden Eagles of Marquette, and fans were optimistic, but several feared that the Johnnies could put on another less-than-scintillating effort similar to their deflating loss against Providence a week before.
Some were talking about the 2024-25 team, which, per the assessment of head coach Rick Pitino, “refused to lose”. A year ago, two games against a talented Marquette team required a “refuse to lose” effort. Was this year’s team ready to do the same for a third straight game?
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When starting lineups were announced, a longtime season ticket holder verbalized, “Why isn’t sophomore Lefteris Liotopoulos in the starting lineup?” after the sophomore scored 17 points in a career-best effort. Another fan agreed that he has been impressive recently, but added that Pitino seems committed to giving Ian Jackson a true chance to develop into the team’s point guard this season.
First Half
The Red Storm started the game with a three-man frontcourt of Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell, and Bryce Hopkins, as well as Oziyah Sellers and Ian Jackson in the backcourt.
On St. John’s’ first possession, Bryce Hopkins drove into the paint, drawing Marquette defenders, and kicked out to an open Oziyah Sellers in the right corner for an open three to give the Johnnies a 3-0 lead. After a Nigel James driving layup for the Golden Eagles, Zuby Ejiofor took down a Dillon Mitchell miss and dunked the ball for a 5-2 lead.
At the 18:35 mark, Mitchell stole the ball and sprinted down the floor, where he saw Hopkins on the left wing. A quick pass led Hopkins perfectly for a layup and a 9-2 St. John’s lead. It looked like the Johnnies were off to the races.
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At the 17:44 mark in the first half, Hopkins drew his second personal foul and had to be removed from the game. A minute and a half later, Ejiofor set up near the foul line, receiving…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/three-takeaways-st-john-men-210447559.html
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Publish date : 2026-01-15 21:04:00
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