Monster run leads Seton Hall past St. John's

Al-Amir Dawes scored 21 points as Seton Hall ripped off 28 straight points bridging the first and second halves and pulled away for an 80-65 victory over St. John's on Tuesday night in Newark, N.J.

Seton Hall (13-5, 6-1 Big East) easily won its fifth straight and eighth in nine games, thanks to an impressive run that spanned 39 minutes of actual time and 8:13 of game time. It turned a 24-24 tie into a 52-24 lead.

After scoring the final 14 points of the half for a 38-24 lead, the Pirates scored the first 14 of the second half. They took a 52-24 lead on two free throws by Elijah Hutchins-Everett.

Dawes hit two 3s in the big run while Dylan Addae-Wusu added 11 of his 16 points in the decisive burst and also pulled down 10 rebounds against his former team. Hutchins-Everett scored nine of his season-high 14 in the run, which did not feature any points from Kadary Richmond.

Richmond added 12 points and nine rebounds and Dre Davis contributed 10 points as Seton Hall shot 39.7 percent and opened 6-1 in Big East play for the first time since 1999-2000, when coach Shaheen Holloway was a senior guard for the team.

St. John's lost its second straight and was without first-year coach Rick Pitino and senior guard Jordan Dingle, who both missed the game due to COVID-19.

Daniss Jenkins scored 17 points and Zuby Ejofor added 13 as the Red Storm (12-6, 4-3) shot 41 percent. Joel Soriano was a non-factor, finishing with six points and getting benched for the final 14:49.

St. John's missed its first 10 shots as the Pirates sped out to a 13-2 lead on a 3-point play by Davis with 13:29 remaining. The Red Storm clawed back by outscoring Seton Hall 22-13 over the next nine-plus minutes to forge a 24-24 tie on a 3 by Jenkins, before Seton Hall seized control.