No. 17 St. John’s rides Darling and Mitchell to longest winning streak in 41 years

NEW YORK (AP) — After a 4-3 start this season, St. John’s is enjoying its most dominant roll in decades.

Bryce Hopkins had 15 points and 10 rebounds as the 17th-ranked Red Storm breezed past Creighton 81-52 on Saturday for their 13th straight victory — marking the program’s longest winning streak in 41 years.

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Dylan Darling scored 17 points off the bench and Zuby Ejiofor added 15 for the first-place Johnnies (22-5, 15-1 Big East), who led wire to wire and held Creighton to 32% shooting in their 18th win in 20 games.

“This was the best defense we played all season,” coach Rick Pitino said. “The guys were totally locked in because of their respect for Creighton and their ability to score.”

It was the largest blowout by St. John’s in a Big East game since a 91-57 win over Butler at Carnesecca Arena on campus in February 2022 — and the school’s biggest margin of victory against a conference opponent at Madison Square Garden since a 90-57 thrashing of No. 6 UConn on Feb. 1, 1992.

St. John’s hadn’t won 13 in a row since a 19-game run in 1984-85 on the way to a No. 1 national ranking, a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and a Final Four berth under Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca.

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“Our staff is doing a phenomenal job of getting the guys (ready),” Pitino said. “It’s one thing to be a great scout and break it down, but it’s getting the players to listen to every little detail, and they’re listening to every little detail. I’m proud of them for that.”

Ejiofor and Hopkins have been at the forefront for the Johnnies all season, but the emergence of Darling and Dillon Mitchell is a huge reason for the turnaround.

With starting guard Ian Jackson sidelined by a sprained right ankle, Darling played 28 1/2 minutes and provided four rebounds, three assists and three steals in a bounce-back performance. The gritty point guard went scoreless in 13 minutes Wednesday and fouled out of a 76-70 victory at Marquette.

“I told him in the handshake…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/no-17-st-johns-rides-220644196.html

Author : MIKE FITZPATRICK

Publish date : 2026-02-21 22:06:00

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