Overview
- St. John’s dominated after halftime at Hinkle Fieldhouse, limiting Butler to 28 points and helping force a season-high 21 turnovers, 13 of them in the second half.
- Bryce Hopkins broke out of his slump with 17 points, including 15 after the break, to pace a balanced Red Storm attack.
- Zuby Ejiofor contributed 18 points and five rebounds, and a two-big look with Ruben Prey (10 points, two steals, one block) keyed a decisive stretch on both ends.
- The performance came three days after a 77-71 home loss to Providence and Rick Pitino’s critique that the team showed “frailties” in late-game situations.
- The bounce-back win is St. John’s second Quad 1 victory, with another Quad 1 test at Creighton later this week.