In a game that saw violent melees that led to six players being ejected, 17th-seeded St. John’s beat Providence 79-69 on Saturday. The fight broke out after Providence’s Duncan Powell fouled Bryce Hopkins, knocking him to the ground.
The game was stopped for approximately 20 minutes while the referees assigned penalties. Four players from St. John’s and two from Providence were ejected. After play resumed, Providence’s one-point lead turned into a four-point deficit. Later, an additional Providence player was sent off for another rough foul.
Coach Rick Pitino was in the middle of the action, trying to calm his players as tension escalated toward the St. John’s bench. After the win, which gave his team an eleventh successive victory, he said that fighting was no longer allowed, and that toughness had to be on the field.
The first spark of the brawl began when St. John’s led by as much as 13 points in the first half, before Providence came back and took a 40-39 lead. With 14.25 minutes remaining, Hopkins tried to shoot quickly, but was hit in the head and face by Powell’s arm and fell to the ground.
Providence coach, Kim English, said that there is a time for a strong foul, but he stressed the need for it to be within the framework of clean basketball, and by preventing the ball from being lifted, not a direct hit.
After the shot, Hopkins got up and headed towards Powell before being pushed away by his teammate, Oswin Erhunmunsi. Then other players intervened and the scramble expanded as the bench players from nearby St. John’s entered.
Powell was reportedly ejected for a second-degree foul as well as a technical foul for scuffing, while Providence’s Jaylen Sellers was ejected for a dead ball foul. From St. John’s, Dillon Mitchell was sent off for a serious technical foul on a dead ball, while Robin Brey, Sadiko Eben Ayew and Kelvin Audeh were sent off for leaving the bench.
A report stated that the conference would review the match to consider additional sanctions.
Tensions returned five minutes before the end after a violent foul by Erhonmunsi against Zube Ejiofor. The foul was considered normal before the referees intervened due to what was described as an escalation near the basket.
Hopkins hit two free throws after play resumed, then St. John’s scored back-to-back points that extended its lead. Dylan Darling led the way with 23 points, while Hopkins finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
St. John’s (20-5, 13-1 in the Big East) will play Marquette on Wednesday night, while Providence (11-15, 4-11) will host DePaul on February 21.
