St. John’s avenges loss to Providence as tempers flare and emotions run wild

Dylan Darling (0) flipped emotional game against Providence with eight straight points after bench-clearing brawl following a foul by Duncan Powell on St. John’s Bryce Hopkins, as Red Storm avenged its lone Big East loss with win over Friars. (Photo by St. John’s Athletics)

By Jason Dimaio (@Jaydimaio)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Bryce Hopkins made his long-awaited return to Providence Saturday, coincidentally Valentine’s Day.

But as the fifth-year senior would soon find out, the reaction he and his St. John’s teammates would receive was not an amorous one. To add to the anticipation, the Red Storm went into Friartown intent on exacting a measure of revenge for its lone conference loss six weeks ago.

And after a fight — one that took on a literal tone early in the second half following a hard foul that ignited an already hostile Amica Mutual Pavilion — the 17th-ranked Johnnies finished the job.

Trailing by one with 14:25 remaining in regulation when Providence forward Duncan Powell clotheslined a defenseless Hopkins from behind on a fast-break layup attempt, St. John’s found itself in a full-fledged brawl that would ultimately see six players ejected in its aftermath. But the visitors would respond with eight unanswered points when play resumed to take the lead for good, not looking back on the way to a 79-69 victory over the host Friars.

“You’re not supposed to come off the bench, but you can’t let your players get beat up,” head coach Rick Pitino said in defense of the Red Storm (20-5, 13-1 Big East), which won its 11th consecutive game Saturday behind 23 points from Dylan Darling, who started the game-changing run after the fracas. “The crowd, I think, lost objectivity of what they’re here for. If they’re just here to poke fun at Bryce Hopkins and not get a win for the Friars, that’s not the Friars I remember in ’87. So I think you’ve gotta try to win, and we’re excited to get a W because we were without a lot of players. We still came away with a victory, so I’m proud of our guys.”

Dillon Mitchell, Kelvin Odih, Ruben Prey and Sadiku Ibine Ayo were all ejected following the dustup Powell and Hopkins, the latter of whom retaliated for the hard foul with a shove of his own. Powell then appeared to throw a punch at Mitchell, while Providence’s Jaylin Sellers shoved St. John’s guard Oziyah Sellers (no relation) from behind and was ejected for that incident. Odih, Prey and Ibine Ayo were ejected for leaving the bench during the scuffle, an automatic disqualification. The Big East is presently reviewing the incident to determine any additional penalties, per a statement issued by the conference.

“We didn’t initiate anything,” a firm Pitino reiterated. “We talk toughness as not turning the ball over, creating steals, getting offensive rebounds. That’s what we believe toughness is, and that’s all we talked about throughout the entire time.”

Darling, who has drawn plaudits from his coach and teammates in recent weeks for raising his game amid the Johnnies’ win streak — now the longest in the nation for a power conference program — swung the pendulum with a personal 8-0 run to put St. John’s ahead, 47-40, a lead it would never relinquish.

“I feel like we responded in the best way possible,” Zuby Ejiofor said, expounding on Pitino’s point. “We’re out three of our players and Dylan does what Dylan’s been pretty much doing for a big stretch now. This is always a tough, tough place to play in, especially when you get a win, so we did exactly what we came here to do.”

“You try not to think about it, but definitely, some of us needed to step up,” Darling said after the Johnnies were left with a thin bench. “Somebody needed to step up and I just tried to bring energy. We were fired up from the exchange, but I just tried to bring energy. We knew we needed to focus on every small detail to win the game.”

Providence had capped a 13-point comeback before the incident, overcoming a 15-4 run by St. John’s to start the game. But with Sellers ejected and Jason Edwards unavailable due to injury, the Friars were left without a primary ball handler for the remainder of the second half, allowing Darling to go to work against reserve guard Nilavan Daniels. The Red Storm defense also made its presence known down the stretch, consistently forcing Providence to work the shot clock to get an attempt off.

The tenor of the game remained chippy for its duration, with Providence freshman Jamier Jones also ejected for shoving Ejiofor after a play, and St. John’s Joson Sanon getting rung up for excessive trash talk. Still, Providence attempted to climb back into the contest. A pair of Stefan Vaaks free throws brought the Friars within nine points late, but the hosts would get no closer as St. John’s answered on the opposite end of the floor to snuff out any hope of a comeback.

The Red Storm picked up a tenth consecutive win on the road Saturday, setting a program record that it looks to extend in its next contest, which comes Tuesday against Marquette. No matter the distraction or adversity that comes with it, one thing remains clear after Saturday’s latest challenge, that St. John’s is undeterred and locked in on a greater prize at the end of the road.

“That’s just who we are,” Ejiofor said of his team’s cohesiveness and united front. “We know exactly what we’re playing for. We’re playing for a championship, and that’s a one game at a time mentality. Our biggest thing was to stay composed, just worry about everything in between the lines and not focus on anything else. It’s just us, and I’m really proud of the guys for how we fought through everything that was thrown our way.”