Rick Pitino said the backs of the St. John’s basketball team were up against the wall following its late game collapse on Saturday afternoon against Providence and the Red Storm played like it on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
The Johnnies put together one of its most complete halves of the season against Butler to win 84-70 after being deadlocked at 42 going into the halftime locker room.
Its turnaround started on the defensive end, holding the Bulldogs (10-6, 1-4 Big East) to 11-of-24 shooting but, more importantly, forcing 13 turnovers and converting that into 19 points. For the game, St. John’s turned 21 turnovers by Butler into 27 points.
Ruben Prey and Lefteris Liotopoulos were major catalysts in the first half resurgence, combining for 16 points and four 3-pointers.
Prey continued his strong play during the second half dominance for the Red Storm and finished with ten points, a block, and two steals in the victory.
“This was a great team effort,” Rick Pitino said following the win. “We needed it from everybody tonight.”
In the second half, Bryce Hopkins took over and scored 15 of his 17 points after being limited to just four minutes in the first half following two quick fouls. Zuby Ejiofor battled foul problems in the second half, but his 14 first half points helped the Johnnies stay afloat, finishing with a team-high 18 points.
“It wasn’t a good feeling for all of us in the room,” Hopkins explained of the team’s mentality following its loss to the Friars. “We tried to wash it out and we tried to just get better in the areas that we made mistakes in the game, and I feel like tonight we did a great job.”
The Red Storm opened the second half on a 7-2 run and later rattled off a 15-3 run that pushed its lead to 17 points, 74-57, which was its largest of the game. Hopkins totaled six points in the stretch that was highlighted by a steal and layup.
St. John’s (10-5, 3-1 Big East) battled foul trouble throughout the first half and trailed by as many as seven points, 35-28, before rattling off a 10-3 run to draw even. Ruben Prey drilled a corner 3-pointer as time expired in the first half to tie the game and give the Johnnies momentum beginning the second half.
“It was a great team win and it’s going to be the start of something good,” Hopkins added.
The Red Storm will complete its pivotal two-game road trip on Saturday afternoon (2:00 p.m. ET, FS1) against Creighton (9-6, 3-1 Big East).