By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo: CBS Sports
The St John’s Red Storm dominated the Kansas State Wildcats in the second half to secure an 88-71 win on a day when the program paid tribute to the late Lou Carnesseca.
Carnesseca died last Saturday at the age of 99. St. John’s held a moment of silence for Carnesecca and a video tribute.
There were multiple chants of “Lou” before the opening tip for the Hall of Fame coach.
Rick Pitino honored and paid tribute to the legend by wearing the sweater that made Carnessaca famous in his time on the St. John’s sideline.
In the first half, the Wildcats had momentum and outplayed the Johnnies. Brendan Hayden led Kansas State with 21 points. The Wildcats led 39-35 in the first half.
The second half was a different story. The Johnnies went in a 12-2 run in the early minutes of the second half, putting them up 53-44.
They led by as many as 17 in the second half. St John’s outscored Kansas State 53-32 in the second half.
Forward Zuby Ejiofor led the Johnnies with a double-double performance, recording 28 points with 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks, including 11 of 17 from the field in 36 minutes.
“I want to thank my teammates and my coaching staff for putting me in a good position to do what I’m capable of every night,” Ejiofor said in the postgame press conference. “That’s a well-coached team, and we did what we had to do in the second half to grab a lead and win the game, so I’m happy.”
Kadary Richmond added 13 points. RJ Luis Jr scored 11 points with eight rebounds. Simeon Wilcher scored 11 points off the bench.
St John’s improved to 7-2. Their next game is against Bryant at home on Wednesday night.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com
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