By: Joaquin Serrato, Contributor

No. 5 St. John’s took on No. 12 Northern Iowa (UNI) in the final matinee match of the first round at Viejas Arena. It was the first meeting between the two programs, ever. Hall of Fame coach of the Red Storm, Rick Pitino faced the Panthers twice in his storied career, both times leading Louisville. 

“We were super ecstatic that we could come to San Diego,” Pitino said postgame. “We were really excited. Now after getting out here, at 85, 86 degrees, we love it. So we never once said, boy, we deserve better.”

Pitino is known for a ruthless full court press. The Panthers fell victim to Pitino’s press as Big East Player of the Year, senior forward Zuby Ejiofor picked up the steal. He went on to assist fellow forward Dillon Mitchell for the trey and a 10-0 St. John run. 

“It’s really a blessing, playing in March Madness,” Ejiofor said. “Obviously, it’s a lot different than the Big East. Guys are really excited. It’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity.”

Putting an end to the 13-0 Red Storm start, guard Leon Bond III deposited a transition layup for the Panthers first points. Hayward, California native Oziyah Sellers responded with a three, 16-2 Red Storm.

Cutting the lead in half, down 13, Panthers leading scorer and guard Trey Campbell cashed from beyond the arc. Eljifor clapped back with a trey of his own, 29-13 St. John’s. 

“We have so many great 3-point shooters on this team,” Ejiofor said. “So coming in, especially for the rest of the tournament, we know that obviously it’s going to be really huge for us hitting threes.”

The score stood at 47-28 Red Storm at half with St. John’s dominating the glass 23 rebounds to UNI’s 12. Additionally, Pitino’s side shot the three ball in the first half at an exceptional 46.7%. A total of 11 team fouls the Panthers handed out in one half of play. 

Campbell swiped the ball from, as Bond III would go on for the routine lay-in on the break as a UNI 4-0 run forced Pitino to burn a timeout early in the second half. Horseth dialed up the highlight reel with a behind the back feed around Ejiofor, finding a cutting Campbell laying it in for two. 

Dylan Mitchell put an end to a 4-minute Red Storm scoring drought with a layup. Seven consecutive missed threes in the second sunk the percentage from 46.7% to 34.5%.

“I think we just settled in,” Bond III said on the second half defense. “We collected ourselves and we gapped it up. We flew out. We covered each other. So I would probably say we just settled in.”

With 12:54 left to play and down 15, Panthers head coach Ben Jacobson burned his final timeout after using three in the first. 

Strong defense with subpar Panthers shooting that fared 3-12 from three kept them ahead and a solid start was the difference for the Red Storm. 

“One of these things we’re appreciating to ourselves is coming out and setting the tone early,” Ejiofor said. “With [what happened in] the Big East Tournament and now this game, we came out really strong and we were able to hold the lead.

A final score of 79-53, the largest margin of the game, clinched a second round game against Utah State for St. John’s.