St. John’s men’s basketball pulls away from Providence after crazy brawl

While Providence was spoiling for a fight, St. John’s was playing for a win.

The sold-out Amica Mutual Pavilion crowd fans were expectedly belligerent against Bryce Hopkins as he made his return to Rhode Island. Somehow, that hostility from the stands bled into the action on the floor and created an unforgettable scene in Saturday afternoon’s game.

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At the 14:25 mark in the second half, with the Friars leading 40-39, Duncan Powell struck Bryce Hopkins in the head as the Red Storm forward drove to the basket on the fastbreak, igniting a frenzied melee between the two teams with lots of pushing and shoving, and with Powell attempting to punch Dillon Mitchell.

Six players were ejected from the scuffle. Powell, Mitchell, and Jaylin Sellers were disqualified for direct involvement in the fight, while Ruben Prey, Kelvin Odih, and Joson Sanon were thrown out for exiting the bench area.

However, Powell’s decision to cheap-shot Hopkins to add more fuel to an already venomous Amica Mutual Pavilion crowd backfired tremendously. Once the dust settled and play resumed, St. John’s overtook Providence with an 8-0 run and held onto the lead for good, ultimately defeating Providence by a score of 79-69.

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Dylan Darling was locked in and played with a different level of intensity that the Friars couldn’t match after the fight. The Idaho State transfer scored 16 of his season-high 23 points after action restarted, hustling for loose balls and playing in the passing lanes. He also pulled down eight defensive rebounds and forced three steals over the course of the game.

Although Zuby Ejiofor was largely neutralized in the paint, he still chipped in 14 points (4-of-7 shooting) and four rebounds, and could’ve had more. With 5:00 remaining, Ejiofor was shoved from behind by a frustrated Jamier Jones as he was driving to the rim. Jones became the third Friar to get ejected, earning a flagrant two foul.

Former Friar Bryce Hopkins did not put on the incredible…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/st-john-men-basketball-pulls-031221022.html

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Publish date : 2026-02-15 03:12:00

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