NEW YORK — RJ Luis Jr scored 27 of his 29 points in the second half as top-seeded St. John’s pulled away for an 82-66 victory over second-seeded Creighton on Saturday night to secure its first Big East conference tournament championship since 2000.
The Red Storm (30-4), ranked No. 6 in the nation, won their ninth straight game by overcoming an early eight-point deficit a day after rallying from a 15-point deficit to beat Marquette in the semifinals.
The tournament’s most valuable player, Luis was 1 of 5 in the first half before making 10 of 13 shots as St. John’s dominated the second half. The Red Storm made 14 straight shots to turn a 41-38 deficit with 12:53 left into a 70-55 bulge with 5:16 remaining.
Luis scored 12 points during the decisive barrage, which started when Zuby Ejiofor hit a jumper and completed a 3-point play to forge a 41-41 tie. The Red Storm never trailed after Deivon Smith’s tough jumper in the lane countered a Steven Ashworth 3 and put the Red Storm up 45-44 with 11:07 left.
Luis took over from there, hitting two 3s and three layups in the Red Storm’s dominating 25-11 blitz.
Ejiofor followed up his career-high 33-point showing against Marquette by contributing 13 of his 20 in the second half. Kadary Richmond contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Red Storm shot 71.9 percent in a 57-point second half and 52.3 percent overall.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 15 on 7-of-10 shooting for the Bluejays (24-10), who lost their fifth title game in five tries since joining the Big East from the Missouri Valley in the 2013-14 season. Jackson McAndrew added 14 while Ashworth and Jamiya Neal contributed 13 apiece as Creighton shot 43.3 percent and misfired on 20 of 26 3-point attempts.
The Blue Jays made seven of their first eight shots and opened a 17-9 lead on a basket by McAndrew with 13:22 remaining. Creighton made four of its final 22 shots and St. John’s sliced the deficit to 28-25 by halftime.
Luis hit a corner 3 to forge a 38-38 tie with 14:26 left, and Ejiofor completed a 3-point play nearly two minutes later for a 41-41 deadlock. After St. John’s took its first lead, Ashworth hit a 3 over Vincent Iwuchukwu with 11 1/2 minutes left. St. John’s Smith hit a jumper in the lane, and Richmond made a strong move to the rim for a 47-44 lead a little over a minute later.
After Neal dunked to get Creighton within 49-48, Luis converted a crafty layup off a bounce pass from Smith for a 58-50 lead with about 7 1/2 minutes left.
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media
The top-seeded Houston Cougars have been knocking on the door in recent seasons and now appear primed to make a championship run. Houston has reached the Sweet 16 the past…
Some teams are riding the momentum of having won their conference tournament championship. Some are hoping the break after the conference tournaments enables them to regain their season-long form after…
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 31 points and eight assists to help the Oklahoma City Thunder post a 121-105 victory over the host Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night. Isaiah Hartenstein scored a…
Eight teams most likely to make Women’s Final Four
Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder cruise past Bucks
West Region: Intriguing coaching matchups loom in early rounds
Can South Carolina repeat in NCAA Women’s Tournament?