St. John’s Suffers Setback Against Auburn
LAS VEGAS — If the loss to Baylor on Tuesday marked progress, Wednesday’s game felt like a step back.
St. John’s had a chance to secure a win but struggled both offensively and defensively. They squandered an 11-point advantage in the second half, ultimately falling to No. 21 Auburn with a score of 85-74.
Despite a strong performance from Tahad Pettiford, who scored 24 points, the team lacked depth. Dylan Darling, playing on a wounded leg, managed only seven minutes of ineffective play. Zuby Ejiofor was also pivotal for the Johnnies, netting 24 points, but the squad scored just seven points after halftime.
In fact, the Red Storm found themselves down by 20 points in the second half, trailing by 17 with less than ten minutes left on the clock.
After an impressive combined effort of 48 points the previous day, Bryce Hopkins and Oziyah Sellers struggled mightily, hitting only 3-of-17 shots.
There were few defensive efforts to speak of. Auburn amassed 44 points in the paint and shot a staggering 64 percent in the second half.
Now standing at 4-3, St. John’s holds a record of 1-3 in power conference games and has lost six consecutive matches against ranked teams.
It was a tough start for St. John’s compared to their earlier win against Baylor.
The defensive approach was disorganized and weak, with St. John’s committing six turnovers before the 12-minute mark in the first half.
Auburn easily navigated through the Red Storm defense, scoring the majority of their early points in the paint. Ejiofor was particularly dominant, scoring nearly every time he touched the ball.
With 5:26 remaining, St. John’s, energized by Sadiq Ibine Ayo, managed to restrict Auburn to just three points in a spell.
They quickly turned this energy into an offensive burst, closing the first half with a 15-3 run and flipping a seven-point deficit into a nine-point lead.
Ejiofor excelled in the first half, tallying 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while the bench, bolstered by Ian Jackson and Ivin Ayo, notably contributed, outscoring Auburn’s reserves 15-7.
Though St. John’s pushed their lead to 11 points early in the second half, defensive rebounding issues quickly resurfaced.
Auburn capitalized on two second-chance opportunities, swiftly narrowing the gap to a single possession. They then surged ahead, scoring six points in a row to tie the game at 61.
Ibine Ayo managed to regain the lead for St. John’s heading into a timeout with under eight minutes remaining.
