March 6, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; St. John’s Red Storm forward Bryce Hopkins (23) shoots the ball against Seton Hall Pirates center Najai Hines (25) in the first half at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Zuby Ejiofor scored 21 points and endured foul trouble as No. 18 St John’s cruised to a 72-65 win over Seton Hall on Friday night in Newark, New Jersey, clinching at least the Big East regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
The Red Storm (25-6, 18-2 Big East) won at least a share of the regular season title for the second straight season and only the second time in program history to do so in back-to-back seasons.
Ejiofor scored 12 points in the second half, making 8 of 12 field goals and 5 of 6 free throws.
Bryce Hopkins and Oziyah Sellers each added 11 as the Red Storm shot 65.2% in the second half and 50% overall. St. John’s also hit 7 of 20 to match its 59.1% (13 of 22) performance from the free throw line.
Adam Clark led Seton Hall (20-11, 10-10) with 15 points, but the Pirates held off St. Louis. They finished 0-4 against St. Johns and UConn, with the losses coming by a combined 21 points. AJ Staton-McCray added 11 but shot 4 of 17 and missed 7 of 8 from 3-point range.
The Pirates shot 41.1% and missed 10 of their 11 3-point attempts after entering the game with a NET rating of 52. Seton Hall clinched the fourth seed in next week’s conference tournament.
Ejiofor picked up his third foul early in the second half but helped the Red Storm withstand a tough challenge over the final nine minutes.
The Red Storm led 50-49 when Ejiofor returned with 9:28 left after a layup by Staton-McCray. The senior center helped St. John’s gradually pull ahead, hitting a hook shot and layup on back-to-back possessions for a 59-51 lead with 5 minutes, 47 seconds left.
Ejiofor cut the lead to three with 1:17 left and twice on Josh Rivera’s tip-in with 47 seconds left, Staton-McCray’s triple with 20 seconds left, and appeared to have secured a 66-58 lead.
After Staton-McCray missed a 3 with eight seconds left, Ejiofor fouled Najai Hines two seconds later, but Hines missed both free throws and Sellers sank both free throws with three seconds left to force the decision.
St. John’s missed 10 of 11 shots in the second half, and Ruben Prey hit a 3 and a layup in the final two minutes to put the Red Storm up 30-27 at halftime, and the Pirates didn’t make a field goal in the final 4 minutes, 46 seconds of the first half.
–Field level media
