“It’s growing pains for every team in the country right now,” Coach Rick Pitino said, breaking down his No. 23 St. John’s early season struggles. An early season loss to No. 12 Alabama and a 1-2 record in the Las Vegas Player’s Era Championship is what Pitino may define as “growing pains” but for fans of the Red Storm it spells disappointment.

The Ole Miss Rebels, a Sweet 16 finalist in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, would be their next chance to postpone disaster and fight through the growing pains. And after facing another sampling of SEC basketball in Las Vegas, the Johnnies were once again assaulted by the trademark grit and ferocity of southern basketball.

The Red Storm began the game shooting an ice-cold 3-11 from the field while maintaining a 9-7 lead in the first eight minutes of play, thanks to an early five points from Oziyah Sellers (7 pts, 2-8 FG). Through fouls and forcing turnovers, St. John’s fought fire with fire and extended their lead by playing as scrappy as their opponents. 

Explosive guard play from Sellers and Ian Jackson (7 pts, 2-11) carried the offense to as much as a 15 point lead at 33-18, while Zuby Ejiofor (15 pts, 9 rebs, 8 blks) kept the paint impenetrable, blocking an absurd six shots in the first half.

“I always just try to be a presence on the defensive end,” Ejiofor coyly said regarding his defensive showing. “Defense was our bread and butter last year… and this game was won on the defensive end, I feel like we wanted it a bit more.”

Ejiofor would be chasing history for the remainder of this contest, hoping to break St. John’s in-game block record which stood at 11. Steady play on offense and a potentially historic performance on defense allowed the Johnnies to coast into halftime with a 33-25 lead. 

The scoring plan may have been boring but effective in the first half: get to the free-throw line.

Every player that touched the floor for St. John’s, besides Ruben Prey, got shots at the charity stripe; resulting in 12 of their 33 points coming from free-throws.

Despite an early 6-0 run in the second half that cut the lead to 36-31, Bryce Hopkins (8 pts, 6 rebs) and Ejiofor steered the Red Storm back to safety with an 8-0 run of their own. This would gift another double-digit lead to the Johnnies at 48-35. 

Any chance for an Ole Miss comeback would be denied by this frontcourt duo, and as Ejiofor’s block total continued to grow, so did St. John’s chance for a victory. At least until the final five minutes of regulation.

The combination of a four minute field goal drought and five turnovers within those four minutes opened the door for the Raiders, eventually closing within one possession of the Johnnies’ 56-53 advantage.

With hope dwindling, Dylan Darling (7 pts, 5-6 FTs) sealed the game by sinking five free-throws in the final minute of play, personifying the Johnnies’ offensive playstyle while holding off the late comeback. 

“Happy I could make those free throws down the stretch to seal it,” Darling said, reflecting on his scoring coming almost exclusively from the line. “But man, I would like to make any other shot besides a free throw, I feel like it would really help the team a lot.”

St. John’s grueling fifth victory of the season came at a 63-58 final score and while it returns the Johnnies to the win column, the play still raises many concerns. But once again under the lights of Madison Square Garden, they will have a chance to course correct when Iona visits on Dec. 13.

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