Dylan Darling scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, leading No. 17 St. John’s to a 79-69 win over host Providence on Saturday afternoon in a game that included a benches-clearing altercation that led to six ejections.
The game changed for good with 14:25 left in regulation. Providence’s Duncan Powell committed a hard foul on former Friar Bryce Hopkins on a breakaway layup. Powell, Jaylin Sellers and Dillon Mitchell were ejected along with Kelvin Odih, Ruben Prey and Lefteris Liotopoulos, who left the St. John’s bench area.
Following a delay for video review and debriefing, the Red Storm sank three of the four ensuing free throws to start an 8-0 run and take a 47-40 lead. Darling finished that stretch with his first of back-to-back 3-pointers and stole an inbounds pass for a layup.
St. John’s outscored Providence 40-29 to finish.
Darling sank three 3-pointers, went 8 of 9 from the foul line and added eight rebounds en route to a season-best performance for the Red Storm (20-5, 13-1), who extended their win streak to 11 since a Jan. 3 home loss to Providence.
Zuby Ejiofor scored 14 points, Oziyah Sellers added 11 and Hopkins had nine points and nine rebounds to add to the St. John’s attack.
Stefan Vaaks had 20 points, Ryan Mela scored 14 and Jaylin Sellers added 13 for Providence (11-15, 4-11), which has lost six of its last eight.
Before the brawl, Providence had been on a 14-1 run dating back to the final minutes of the first half, with a Jaylin Sellers 3-pointer highlighting the spurt and kicking off a back-and-forth stretch during which the game was tied two other times.
After the altercation, Providence got within four after Vaaks’ outlet feed led to a Jamier Jones three-point play with 13:55 left, but got no closer as Darling scored the game’s next five points and Ejiofor responded to multiple Mela baskets midway through the half.
Oziyah Sellers’ midrange jumper with 5:52 left gave St. John’s a double-digit lead again as part of a 9-3 run that put the game out of reach.
The Red Storm stormed out of the gates, responding to Oswin Erhunmwunse’s opening layup with a 10-0 run. Two Providence turnovers extended the segment, with Hopkins scoring the first of back-to-back baskets off steals.
After Mela’s layup stopped the run, Stu Jackson sank a 3-pointer and turned another turnover into a dunk for a 15-4 St. John’s lead in less than five minutes. A 5-0 burst brought Providence within seven, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Darling and Joson Sanon gave the Storm a 13-point lead.
A Jones three-point play and a Vaaks trey bookended Providence’s longest first-half run, making it 25-20 with 7:09 to play. St. John’s answered a near six-minute field-goal drought with a 9-2 run including a Hopkins transition dunk, but five Jaylin Sellers points and a Powell triple ended the first half.
