St. John's Basketball: 3 takeaways from exhibition win over Rutgers

One of the more intriguing games among the exhibition slate was between St. John's Basketball and Rutgers in a charity game at Rutgers. The star attractions were the guards in what ended up being a thrilling game decided in the final minutes.

Despite giving up a 22-0 run at one point, the Red Storm came back to get the 91-85 victory. It doesn't count toward their record for the season but a road win over the No. 25 team in the country is still a good sign for the team going forward.

Here are some takeaways from the game.

1. Zuby Ejiofor's breakout game

Ejiofor is a former top-40 prospect who played 11 mpg off the bench behind Joel Soriano. He's now the starting center and had the biggest game of anyone in the game, going for a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds. After a slow start, Ejiofor dominated Rutgers' frontcourt in 34 minutes played. Even if the Scarlet Knights have concerns inside, the Red Storm should be happy with what they saw from their new lead big man.

2. 37 from Luis and Wicher

There were three players who had 11+ points and St. John's Basketball and they were all surprises. Besides Ejiofor, RJ Luis (22 pts) and sophomore Simeon Wilcher (15 pts) had the other big games, with Luis being the big source of offense to keep them in the game in the first half. With Wilcher being a freshman and Luis dealing with injuries, neither had a big role. But if they can continue this play, the Big East team will have six quality offensive threats.

3. Kadary Richmond's overall impact

The Big 3 on the perimeter for St. John's is Richard, Deivon Smith and Aaron Scott, who combined for 25 pts on 7/22 FG. That alone makes it impressive for them to beat the No. 25 team on the road. Richmond is expected to be the star of the team, with nine points on 3/10 FG shooting.

However, the former Seton Hall guard also had nine rebounds and six assists, most in the second half. He was the lead guard that St. John's needed late and his all-around game will be what the team needs to be successful throughout this season.