RJ Luis Jr. had 23 points and 14 rebounds to help No. 9 St. John’s strengthen its grip on first place in the Big East with a 79-73 victory over No. 24 Creighton on Sunday.
The Red Storm (22-4, 13-2) have a two-game advantage over the Bluejays (18-8, 11-4) in the Big East standings. A Creighton win would have given it the head-to-head tiebreaker over St. John’s, which is seeking its first regular-season title since 1986.
Luis made 6-of-17 shots in his eighth double-double this season. He sank six free throws in the final two minutes and made 10-of-13 overall to help St. John’s secure its 10th win in 11 games.
Kadary Richmond had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Storm. Zuby Ejiofor added 18 points and nine boards.
Steven Ashworth scored 23 points for Creighton, which dropped its second straight after winning nine in a row. Jamiya Neal added 19. Ryan Kalkbrenner was held to 12 points and appeared to have limited mobility in his right foot after getting helped to the locker room with 9:45 left.
Kalkbrenner was injured jostling for a rebound under the rim with Ejiofor and Luis. He returned with 3:47 remaining, but was unable to help Creighton mount a comeback.
Zuby Ejiofor finishes a put-back dunk in St John’s 79-73 win over Creighton
Takeaways
Creighton: The Bluejays went 8-of-30 (26.7%) from 3-point range on Sunday. In its loss to UConn, Creighton shot 29.2% (7-of-24) from 3 on Tuesday.
St. John’s: Deivon Smith played 26 minutes and shot 4-of-9 after missing last week’s loss at Villanova with a neck injury. Smith was 8-for-34 in his previous four games after hurting his shoulder on Jan. 11.
Key moment
After missing 11 straight shots, Creighton got within 61-59 on a tip-in by Neal with 6:37 left. But St. John’s responded with a 3 by Aaron Scott and a jumper by Luis.
Key stat
The Red Storm shot 58.6% (17-of-29) from the free-throw line.
Up next
Creighton hosts Georgetown next Sunday. St. John’s visits DePaul on Wednesday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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