NEW YORK (AP) — Zuby Ejiofor had a career-high eight blocks along with 15 points and nine rebounds, anchoring a strong defensive performance that carried No. 23 St. John's past Mississippi 63-58 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Ejiofor scored all but two of his points in the second half, and the Red Storm (5-3) held on after leading by 14 with eight minutes remaining. He blocked six shots in the first half to go with three steals.
St. John's limited Ole Miss to 36.4% shooting from the field, including 2 for 16 from 3-point distance (12.5%), and forced 20 turnovers. The Johnnies went 25 of 35 on free throws to 16 of 20 for Mississippi and had a 13-0 advantage in fast-break points, enabling them to win despite shooting 34% from the floor and finishing with more turnovers (20) than field goals (17).
Malik Dia had 18 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench for the Rebels (5-4), who have lost four straight games — all to power-conference opponents. Dia started all 44 of his previous games at Ole Miss.
Ilias Kamardine scored 16 points for Mississippi, and Kezza Giffa added 10 points and seven steals off the bench.
AJ Storr, a 2023 All-Big East Freshman Team selection at St. John's, was booed throughout and scored only two points for Ole Miss. He missed all six of his field goal attempts.
Storr is playing for his fourth Power Five program in four years. He entered averaging 13.8 points per game, tied with Kamardine for the team lead.
The only previous meeting between the schools came on the St. John's campus in the first round of the 1989 National Invitation Tournament won by the Johnnies.
It was Mississippi's first game at The Garden since a 68-63 loss to Dayton in the semifinals of the 2010 NIT.
Mississippi plays Southern Miss next Saturday in Biloxi, Mississippi.
St. John's is back at MSG next Saturday to host local foe Iona, the suburban MAAC school where coach Rick Pitino spent three seasons before jumping to the Red Storm.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
St. John's forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) reacts after making a three-point basket against Auburn during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Players Era tournament Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder believes fifth-year forward Jalen Johnson is still a work in progress. If he’s right, it’s a terrifying prospect for opponents.
Johnson continued his emergence with his second triple-double in two nights Saturday, finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in a 131-116 win over the Washington Wizards.
It was his fourth of a season in which every one of those performances has been needed as the Hawks manage without four-time All-Star Trae Young, who has been out since late October with a sprained right MCL.
Johnson is averaging 23.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists, all significant improvements from a 2024-25 campaign that was easily his best.
“It’s reflective of a guy that’s done a lot of work that we need to make a lot of plays for us,” Snyder said of Johnson. “The triple-doubles, like the statistics, are great. But he wants to win and there’s more there. He can continue to become more efficient, because we need him to be that.”
Both Friday and Saturday’s performances were historic.
In Friday’s 134-133 home loss to Denver, he recorded the second-fastest triple-double in NBA history, reaching the threshold in only 16:44. (Denver’s Nikola Jokic holds the record of 14 minutes, 33 seconds.)
Saturday, he became only the second Hawks player ever with triple-doubles on both ends of a back-to-back, after Bob Sura did it on April 9 and 10, 2004.
“Yesterday was cool, but tonight was more important because we got the win,” Johnson said. “So I think that’s what makes it better. But it was just a great group effort and like I said before, it’s just a product of my teammates hitting shots and everybody making the game much easier for me.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) dribbles the ball against Washington Wizards forward Justin Champagnie, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) shoots against Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (7) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) goes to the basket against Washington Wizards forwards Justin Champagnie (9) and Tristan Vukcevic (00) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Wizards forward Justin Champagnie (9) fouls Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
