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INDIANAPOLIS — It was expected that it would be ugly.
A rock fight. A struggle.
So much of St. John’s success this year has been built on its ability to win that way. To prevail despite so much going wrong.
It felt right, that on the night they would clinch a share of the Big East regular season crown, that it was in a game like this. A slugfest in which the seventh-ranked Johnnies weren’t at their best and never could pull away from Butler despite a fast start.
In the end, in crunch time, when the game was up for grabs, St. John’s made the winning plays at both ends of the floor like it has almost all season.
Now, after this gritty 76-70 victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Johnnies can clinch the program’s first outright league title since 1985 on Saturday against Seton Hall and will at worst share the crown with Creighton.
Zuby Ejiofor saved his best for last, scoring six of his 12 points in the final 5:48. RJ Luis Jr. hit two clutch free throws with 1:48 to go to push the lead to four. Deivon Smith added two more critical ones at the line. And St. John’s locked down Butler when it mattered most, holding the Bulldogs to 37 percent shooting in the second half.
There was no celebration after the win. That can come Saturday. Luis had 24 points to lead St. John’s (25-4, 16-2), and Kadary Richmond added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Jahmyl Telfort had 13 points for Butler.
St. John’s started the night as if shot out of a rocket, quickly racing out to a double-digit lead just 5:50 after the opening tip, 17-7. The Johnnies hit their first four shots and got out in transition, quickly forcing a Butler timeout.
They cooled off from there. The Johnnies were limited to 21 points over the final 14:10 of the opening half. Ejiofor was limited to eight minutes due to foul trouble, a major factor in St. John’s letting Butler hang around.
Vince Iwuchukwu saw extended action in his place and scored six points. But in the 12 minutes without Ejiofor on the floor, St. John’s was outscored by six.
Still, the Red Storm held a six-point lead at halftime, behind 12 points from Luis.
They were minus-three on the glass over the first 20 minutes, a rarity, allowing eight offensive rebounds to Butler. Brooks had it going for the Bulldogs, scoring a team-high 12 points.
Butler started the second half the way St. John’s started the first, scoring on five of its first six second-half possessions, and trailed by just one after a Patrick McCaffrey offensive rebound and follow, forcing a Pitino timeout.
St. John’s responded with six consecutive points, but Butler answered with seven in a row to get even at 51 with 11:16 left.
The Bulldogs took their first lead since the opening minute when Kolby King, the former St. John’s guard, completed a three-point play with 7:38 remaining.
Luis, however, scored on the other end, giving St. John’s the lead for good. He then threw home a dunk to push the difference to five, and the Johnnies were able to hold on.
