New York, NY- Last night in the mecca we had a big-time matchup between two well matched Big East rivals in St. John’s and Seton Hall and the game lived up to the hype. Seton Hall came out in the first half and caused pure chaos on the floor. They were just outworking the Johnnies and playing high level defense all half. The Pirates got good offensive production from the duo of Staton-McCray and Simpkins who had 22 of 38 Seton Hall points. The standout player in the first half though was Stephon Payne II as he was dominant with a near double-double of 9 points and 8 rebounds. St. John’s had trouble all half offensively but what kept them in the game was the play of Dillon Mitchell, Bryce Hopkins, and Zuby Ejiofor who had 24 of their 32 total points. Seton Hall would go into the locker room leading 38-32 and the score was much closer than it actually felt watching it play out on the floor.
When the second half began Seton Hall would go on to continue their physical and defensive dominance going on a 9-0 run to start the half. The Pirates held the Red Storm scoreless for the first 4:30 of the half and took a 47-32 lead. Unfortunately for Seton Hall that was the end of what was a fun night for them up to this point. St. John’s would go on a huge 33-13 run to close the game out all with their leader Zuby Ejiofor being off the floor with foul trouble. The Red Storm dominated the glass and clamped down the Pirates flipping the script in big time fashion. Mitchell would finish the night with a double-double, grabbing 11 rebounds to go along with his game high 17 points. Meanwhile an underrated aspect of this half would be the two-way impact of Dylan Darling. His ball pressure was elite on Seton Hall’s guards and he did a great job keeping the team steady offensively while also scoring some key buckets. St. John’s would complete the comeback over Seton Hall with a 65-60 final score to win their fifth straight game and improve to 7-1 in conference play.
Dillon Mitchell may not be the first name you think of when it comes to this Red Storm team but he’s a big piece that was added to this roster over the summer and last night showed you why. Mitchell can be a two-way force at times and plays with a physicality that is fun to watch. Offensively he is a very good finisher around the rim and can finish with both force or finesse depending on what’s needed. Mitchell is also a legitimate transition threat. He can grab a rebound and go coast to coast with good ball handling out of the forward spot and finish at the basket. He does needs to improve on his perimeter shooting and also develop more consistency going to the right side of the floor though. Defensively he can move well and provides versatility with his defensive impact. Mitchell will also hit the glass and be a force to deal with for opposing matchups with his high motor.
Although Seton Hall got higher point scoring games out of A.J Staton-McCray and Taijuan Simpkins I thought the most impactful Pirate tonight was easily Stephon Payne II. Payne was solid on both ends of the floor. He provided toughness in this game and was super active on the boards while giving them some much needed rim protection as well. On the offensive end his rebounding continued to be a key as he grabbed 8 offensive rebounds vs a tough St. John’s frontcourt. Much of those rebounds led to second chance points from Payne. He played with great energy and was the main reason for Seton Hall’s great start to this game.
This article was written by Jordan Amadeo, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Instagram, or on twitter.
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