Balanced offense propels St. John's past Delaware for 6th straight win

Deivon Smith tallied 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists as St. John's breezed past visiting Delaware 97-76 on Saturday in New York.

Five other players scored in double figures for the Red Storm (11-2), who won their sixth straight game in a stretch that has included a victory over Kansas State and a pair of Big East Conference wins. St. John's outshot Delaware 60.9 percent to 49.2 percent from the floor.

That team effort helped the Red Storm withstand Delaware sharpshooter John Camden, who set career highs of 35 points and nine 3-pointers on 11 tries.

The rest of the Blue Hens (7-6) combined to make just 1 of 13 shots from long range. Niels Lane finished with 14 points and Izaiah Pasha had 10.

For St. John's, Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis Jr. each put up 16 points, while Simeon Wilcher scored 12. Vincent Iwuchukwu had a season-high 11 points and Kadary Richmond paired 10 points with seven assists.

St. John's broke the game open early by making nine straight shots from the floor. Wilcher netted the first seven points of that run, and it ended with three straight 3-pointers -- one by Aaron Scott and two by Smith -- to make it 25-12 less than nine minutes into the game.

Ejiofor's two free throws with 3:32 left in the first half gave the Red Storm their first 20-point lead at 41-21. Thirty seconds later, he threw down a two-handed dunk while getting contact, and the ensuing foul shot capped a 7-0 St. John's run.

The Red Storm led 48-29 at intermission and continued to keep Delaware roughly 20 points at bay.

Delaware's lone saving grace was Camden, who sank seven of his 3-pointers in the second half alone.

Shortly after one of Camden's triples made it 73-55, Luis had a pair of dunks, the latter putting St. John's ahead 80-57 with 7:28 on the clock. The Blue Hens got no closer than 18 the rest of the way.

--Field Level Media