While Providence was spoiling for a fight, St. John’s was playing for a win.
The sold-out Amica Mutual Pavilion crowd fans were expectedly belligerent against Bryce Hopkins as he made his return to Rhode Island. Somehow, that hostility from the stands bled into the action on the floor and created an unforgettable scene in Saturday afternoon’s game.
At the 14:25 mark in the second half, with the Friars leading 40-39, Duncan Powell struck Bryce Hopkins in the head as the Red Storm forward drove to the basket
on the fastbreak, igniting a frenzied melee between the two teams with lots of pushing and shoving, and with Powell attempting to punch Dillon Mitchell.
Six players were ejected from the scuffle. Powell, Mitchell, and Jaylin Sellers were disqualified for direct involvement in the fight, while Ruben Prey, Kelvin Odih, and Joson Sanon were thrown out for exiting the bench area.
However, Powell’s decision to cheap-shot Hopkins to add more fuel to an already venomous Amica Mutual Pavilion crowd backfired tremendously. Once the dust settled and play resumed, St. John’s overtook Providence with an 8-0 run and held onto the lead for good, ultimately defeating Providence by a score of 79-69.
Dylan Darling was locked in and played with a different level of intensity that the Friars couldn’t match after the fight. The Idaho State transfer scored 16 of his season-high 23 points after action restarted, hustling for loose balls and playing in the passing lanes. He also pulled down eight defensive rebounds and forced three steals over the course of the game.
Although Zuby Ejiofor was largely neutralized in the paint, he still chipped in 14 points (4-of-7 shooting) and four rebounds, and could’ve had more. With 5:00 remaining, Ejiofor was shoved from behind by a frustrated Jamier Jones as he was driving to the rim. Jones became the third Friar to get ejected, earning a flagrant two foul.
Former Friar Bryce Hopkins did not put on the incredible performance that would silence the vicious Providence crowd he was likely hoping for, only scoring nine points on 3-of-14 shooting, but he supplied a team-high nine rebounds and forced two steals. Most importantly, he got the last laugh with a victory.
St. John’s was in complete control early in the first half, leading 25-12 following a Joson Sanon triple with 11:03 remaining, but their offense flat-lined by missing their next eight shots and allowed Providence to climb back into the game. The Friars entered the break on a 7-0 run that cut the Red Storm’s halftime lead to 34-29, and appeared to be in the driver’s seat with a one-point lead before that scrum instigated by Powell reinvigorated the Johnnies.
Even though it was another lackluster offensive performance for St. John’s, who shot 38.2% from the field (26-of-68) and 28.6% from three (6-of-21), they came away with another win thanks to physical and connected defense. Providence was somehow worse, shooting 33.3% from the field (22-of-66) and 21.7% from three (5-of-23), and they surrendered 15 turnovers. For comparison, the Red Storm only had five giveaways.
The Red Storm improved to a record of 20-5, clinching their third consecutive 20-win campaign since Rick Pitino was hired in 2023. Not only did the Johnnies extend their winning streak to eleven games, but they also set a program record for the longest road winning streak in Big East games, at ten.
St. John’s will be back on the road to face the Marquette Golden Eagles (9-17, 4-11 Big East) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, February 18. Tip-off from the Fiserv Forum is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern, and the game can be watched on TNT.
