Red Storm Runs Wild: St. John’s Smothers Bucknell 97–49 With Relentless Defense

By Jason Safford | Relentless Redstorm

The gym shook early.
The crowd leaned in.
Everyone felt the jolt.

Something was off.
Bucknell hit first.
St. John’s missed six of seven shots.
Down 8–2.
And then it happened.

Coach Rick Pitino did something bold.
He yanked all five starters before the clock hit 16:46.
Every. Single. One.
Fans gasped.
Players blinked.
The building froze.

Pitino’s message hit like a hammer.
Wake up. Play harder. Defend everything.

The second group sprinted in with fire in their eyes.
They pressed.
They chased.
They swarmed Bucknell into panic.

And the whole night flipped.

THE DEFENSE HIT LIKE NEW YORK TRAFFIC

Bucknell could not breathe.
They shot 29% for the game and only 18% in the second half.
St. John’s forced 24 turnovers and grabbed 15 steals, their most since 2021.

Each steal felt like thunder.
Every stop felt like another wave crashing.

Dillon Mitchell soared for 11 boards.
He blocked three shots.
Stole four more.
Owned the paint.

Ruben Prey blocked shots.
Bryce Hopkins ripped steals.
Guards boxed out harder than forwards.

Everything about this defense said one thing:
Not tonight. Not in our house.

THE GUARDS GREW UP TONIGHT

This was the breakthrough game Pitino wanted.
Ball pressure?
Sharp.
Ball protection?
Locked in.
Rebounding?
Guards crashed like warriors.

Dylan Darling was the engine.
Five assists.
One steal.
No fear.

Joson Sanon played with force.
Ten points.
Six rebounds.
He hunted shots.
Boxed out like a vet.

Ian Jackson?
A volcano off the bench.
Twenty points on 6-for-13 shooting, and he shrugged off every Bucknell body.
He changed the entire pace of the game the moment he stepped in.

Tonight the St. John’s backcourt didn’t just play fast.
It played grown.

THE RUN THAT BROKE THE GAME OPEN

St. John’s led 23–20.
The arena hummed.
Then the switch flipped.
Twelve straight Red Storm points.
A 12–0 run that felt like a stampede downtown.

Liotopoulos hit a deep three.
Jackson slashed to the rim.
The crowd roared each time Bucknell panicked.

By halftime the lead ballooned to 41–25.
And the second half?
It became a track meet.

Fast-break points: 32.
Rebounds: 48–26 edge.
Bench points: 58.

Pitino kept pressing every possession.
St. John’s pushed the lead to 49.
The building shook again.

THE NIGHT BELONGED TO HOPKINS AND THE KIDS

Bryce Hopkins dominated with calm power.
Twenty points.
Three threes.
Three steals.
He looked like the star everyone expected.

Jackson matched him point for point.
Prey set a career high with 14.
Mitchell played like the team anchor.

This night the young guns grew sharp teeth.
The old heads took command.
This team felt complete.

SO… WHY THE FULL FIVE-MAN SWAP?

Pitino told the truth without saying a word.
He wanted intensity fast.
Ownership on every play.
He needed more.

He got a firestorm.

That bold move set the tone for everything that followed.
Steals, threes, breakaway dunks, the roar of the crowd,
and the message no one could miss:

If you don’t defend, you don’t play.
If you defend, you run wild.

THE GARDEN AWAITS

St. John’s now rides into the Players Era Championship at 3–1 and surging.
This team plays fast.
It plays hard.
And it plays with a new hunger.

Tonight showed something deeper than numbers or runs.
St. John’s found its identity.
It found its edge.
Found fire.

And under Pitino, that fire only grows.

Next stop: No. 16 Iowa State.
Next test: Bigger. Harder. Louder.
Next step in the rise: Monday night.

Because this team is not just winning.
This team is forming something real.

A storm.
Force.
Promise.

And you can feel it coming.

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