DEPAUL

STJOHN

Darling scores season-high 17 points as No. 22 St. John's beats DePaul 79-66 in Big East opener

AP
Dec 16, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) Dylan Darling scored a season-high 17 points off the bench and gave No. 22 St. John’s a lift with his 3-point shooting as the Red Storm opened Big East play with a 79-66 victory over DePaul Blue Demons on Tuesday night.

Playing their only conference game inside Carnesecca Arena this season, the Red Storm (7-3) led virtually the entire way and avoided another slow start after missing 12 of their first 13 shots in Saturday’s 91-64 win over Iona at Madison Square Garden.

Darling shot 5 of 9 from the field and hit a trio of 3s to help the Johnnies finish with 10 in his second game since being supplanted by Ian Jackson as the team's starting point guard. The 6-foot-1 junior entered 1 of 15 from outside the arc in his first eight games at St. John's Red Storm after transferring from Idaho State.

Joson Sanon added 15 points and tied a career high with nine rebounds. Jackson scored 10 and Zuby Ejiofor had nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks - giving him 20 over the last three games.

Ejiofor became the first Big East player with 20 blocks in a three-game span since Chris Obekpa for the Red Storm in 2013.

St. John’s shot 45% and got 32 points from its reserves, including nine from Ruben Prey on 4-of-4 shooting - including a 3.

Kaleb Banks led the Blue Demons (8-4) with 19 points and CJ Gunn added 15. The Blue Demons shot 39% and went 7 of 25 (28%) from 3-point distance.

DePaul: Will host No. 5 UConn on Sunday.

St. John’s: Will face Kentucky on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic at Atlanta.

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1st Half
DEP
Blue Demons
28
SJU
Red Storm
39

Time		Play	Score
20:00		NJ Benson vs. Zuby Ejiofor (Ian Jackson gains possession)
19:43		Bryce Hopkins misses two point layup
19:41		Zuby Ejiofor offensive rebound
19:37		Zuby Ejiofor misses two point layup
19:35		Kaleb Banks defensive rebound
19:17	+2	CJ Gunn makes two point jump shot (Layden Blocker assists)	2-0
18:45	+3	Joson Sanon makes three point jump shot (Oziyah Sellers assists)	2-3
18:32		Zuby Ejiofor blocks Layden Blocker's two point layup
18:30		Ian Jackson defensive rebound
18:24		Zuby Ejiofor misses three point jump shot
18:22		CJ Gunn defensive rebound
18:02		CJ Gunn misses three point jump shot
18:00		Ian Jackson defensive rebound
17:50	+2	Ian Jackson makes two point layup	2-5
17:42		Kaleb Banks misses two point layup
17:40		NJ Benson offensive rebound
17:37	+2	NJ Benson makes two point layup	4-5
17:17	+3	Ian Jackson makes three point jump shot (Zuby Ejiofor assists)	4-8
16:56		RJ Smith misses two point layup
16:54		Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound
16:48		Ian Jackson misses three point jump shot
16:46		Kaleb Banks defensive rebound
16:13		Blue Demons turnover (shot clock violation)
16:00	+2	Zuby Ejiofor makes two point layup (Ian Jackson assists)	4-10
15:29	+3	Kaleb Banks makes three point jump shot (NJ Benson assists)	7-10
15:16		Oziyah Sellers misses two point layup
15:14		NJ Benson defensive rebound
15:00	+2	NJ Benson makes two point layup (Layden Blocker assists)	9-10
15:00		Ian Jackson shooting foul (NJ Benson draws the foul)
15:00		TV timeout
15:00	+1	NJ Benson makes regular free throw 1 of 1	10-10
14:44		Zuby Ejiofor turnover (bad pass) (CJ Gunn steals)
14:26		Brandon Maclin turnover (bad pass) (Zuby Ejiofor steals)
14:19		Khaman Maker shooting foul (Bryce Hopkins draws the foul)
14:19		Bryce Hopkins misses regular free throw 1 of 2
14:19	+1	Bryce Hopkins makes regular free throw 2 of 2	10-11
14:00		Layden Blocker misses two point jump shot
13:58		Dylan Darling defensive rebound
13:50		Oziyah Sellers misses three point jump shot
13:48		Dylan Darling offensive rebound
13:44	+3	Dylan Darling makes three point jump shot	10-14
13:18		CJ Gunn offensive foul (Dylan Darling draws the foul)
13:18		CJ Gunn turnover (offensive foul)
13:13		Jeremy Lorenz shooting foul (Dillon Mitchell draws the foul)
13:13	+1	Dillon Mitchell makes regular free throw 1 of 2	10-15
13:13	+1	Dillon Mitchell makes regular free throw 2 of 2	10-16
13:05	+2	Jeremy Lorenz makes two point dunk (FabiÃ¡n Flores assists)	12-16
12:47		FabiÃ¡n Flores blocks Dillon Mitchell's two point layup
12:45		Blue Demons defensive rebound
12:31	+2	FabiÃ¡n Flores makes two point layup (Brandon Maclin assists)	14-16
12:21	+3	Ruben Prey makes three point jump shot (Dylan Darling assists)	14-19
11:54		RJ Smith misses three point jump shot
11:52		Brandon Maclin offensive rebound
11:45		TV timeout
11:34		Kruz McClure misses two point layup
11:32		Kaleb Banks offensive rebound
11:26	+2	Kaleb Banks makes two point layup	16-19
11:16		Lefteris Liotopoulos misses three point jump shot
11:14		RJ Smith defensive rebound
10:46		Brandon Maclin misses three point jump shot
10:44		Dylan Darling defensive rebound
10:36	+3	Dylan Darling makes three point jump shot	16-22
9:58		Kruz McClure misses three point jump shot
9:56		Lefteris Liotopoulos defensive rebound
9:48	+2	Ruben Prey makes two point jump shot (Dillon Mitchell assists)	16-24
9:40		Brandon Maclin turnover (lost ball)
9:22		CJ Gunn blocks Dylan Darling's two point layup
9:20		Kaleb Banks defensive rebound
9:11		FabiÃ¡n Flores misses two point layup
9:09		FabiÃ¡n Flores offensive rebound
9:05		FabiÃ¡n Flores misses two point layup
9:03		Lefteris Liotopoulos defensive rebound
8:52	+2	Lefteris Liotopoulos makes two point layup (Ruben Prey assists)	16-26
8:25		Layden Blocker misses three point jump shot
8:23		FabiÃ¡n Flores offensive rebound
8:10		RJ Smith turnover (bad pass) (Ruben Prey steals)
8:06	+2	Ruben Prey makes two point dunk	16-28
8:06		Blue Demons 30 second timeout
8:06		TV timeout
7:40	+3	RJ Smith makes three point jump shot (Layden Blocker assists)	19-28
7:20	+2	Joson Sanon makes two point layup	19-30
7:20		RJ Smith shooting foul (Joson Sanon draws the foul)
7:20	+1	Joson Sanon makes regular free throw 1 of 1	19-31
6:52		NJ Benson misses two point jump shot
6:50		Dillon Mitchell defensive rebound
6:50		Kaleb Banks personal foul (Dillon Mitchell draws the foul)
6:43		Dillon Mitchell misses two point layup
6:41		Dillon Mitchell offensive rebound
6:36		Dillon Mitchell misses two point layup
6:34		Dillon Mitchell offensive rebound
6:32		Dillon Mitchell misses two point layup
6:30		NJ Benson defensive rebound
6:23		Zuby Ejiofor blocks Layden Blocker's two point layup
6:21		Dillon Mitchell defensive rebound
6:07	+2	Zuby Ejiofor makes two point jump shot	19-33
5:41		CJ Gunn misses two point jump shot
5:39		Ian Jackson defensive rebound
5:33	+2	Ian Jackson makes two point layup	19-35
5:11		Joson Sanon personal foul (Layden Blocker draws the foul)
5:10		CJ Gunn turnover (bad pass) (Bryce Hopkins steals)
5:06		Ian Jackson misses two point layup
5:05		Blue Demons defensive rebound
5:05		RJ Smith turnover (lost ball) (Bryce Hopkins steals)
5:00		Layden Blocker shooting foul (Joson Sanon draws the foul)
5:00	+1	Joson Sanon makes regular free throw 1 of 2	19-36
5:00	+1	Joson Sanon makes regular free throw 2 of 2	19-37
4:50		Zuby Ejiofor blocks Layden Blocker's two point layup
4:48		Blue Demons offensive rebound
4:44	+2	CJ Gunn makes two point jump shot	21-37
4:20		Bryce Hopkins turnover (lost ball) (Layden Blocker steals)
4:15	+2	Kaleb Banks makes two point layup (Layden Blocker assists)	23-37
4:04		Ian Jackson turnover (lost ball) (Layden Blocker steals)
3:59		Ian Jackson personal foul
3:59		TV timeout
3:34		Layden Blocker misses two point jump shot
3:32		Joson Sanon defensive rebound
3:26		Joson Sanon misses two point layup
3:24		FabiÃ¡n Flores defensive rebound
3:04		Kruz McClure misses three point jump shot
3:02		Joson Sanon defensive rebound
2:50		Zuby Ejiofor misses two point jump shot
2:48		Kaleb Banks defensive rebound
2:41	+2	Kaleb Banks makes two point jump shot	25-37
2:37		Red Storm 30 second timeout
2:17		Zuby Ejiofor turnover (bad pass)
2:07	+3	RJ Smith makes three point jump shot (FabiÃ¡n Flores assists)	28-37
1:50		Bryce Hopkins misses two point jump shot
1:48		Zuby Ejiofor offensive rebound
1:45	+2	Zuby Ejiofor makes two point dunk	28-39
1:15		Zuby Ejiofor blocks Brandon Maclin's three point jump shot
1:13		Joson Sanon defensive rebound
1:07		Bryce Hopkins turnover (traveling)
0:49		CJ Gunn misses two point layup
0:47		Oziyah Sellers defensive rebound
0:36		Dylan Darling misses three point jump shot
0:34		CJ Gunn defensive rebound
0:04		RJ Smith misses three point jump shot
0:02		Blue Demons offensive rebound
0:02		Blue Demons turnover (shot clock violation)
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
DEP
Blue Demons
38
SJU
Red Storm
40

Time		Play	Score
19:52	+2	CJ Gunn makes two point layup (Layden Blocker assists)	30-39
19:20	+3	Ian Jackson makes three point jump shot (Oziyah Sellers assists)	30-42
18:55		CJ Gunn misses three point jump shot
18:53		Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound
18:41		CJ Gunn blocks Joson Sanon's two point layup
18:39		Joson Sanon offensive rebound
18:29		Joson Sanon turnover (lost ball) (Layden Blocker steals)
18:21		Kaleb Banks misses three point jump shot
18:19		Joson Sanon defensive rebound
18:05		Joson Sanon turnover (CJ Gunn steals)
17:54		CJ Gunn misses two point layup
17:52		Joson Sanon defensive rebound
17:45	+2	Joson Sanon makes two point layup (Ian Jackson assists)	30-44
17:38		Layden Blocker misses three point jump shot
17:36		Joson Sanon defensive rebound
17:29		Ian Jackson misses two point layup
17:27		NJ Benson defensive rebound
17:16	+2	RJ Smith makes two point jump shot	32-44
16:55	+3	Bryce Hopkins makes three point jump shot (Oziyah Sellers assists)	32-47
16:34	+2	NJ Benson makes two point dunk (Layden Blocker assists)	34-47
16:24		Blue Demons 30 second timeout
16:24		TV timeout
16:15		Bryce Hopkins misses two point layup
16:13		NJ Benson defensive rebound
16:00	+3	Kaleb Banks makes three point jump shot (Layden Blocker assists)	37-47
15:28		Bryce Hopkins turnover (bad pass) (Kaleb Banks steals)
14:58		Bryce Hopkins personal foul
14:58		TV timeout
14:45		RJ Smith misses three point jump shot
14:43		Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound
14:19		Joson Sanon misses three point jump shot
14:17		Brandon Maclin defensive rebound
14:09		Joson Sanon blocks NJ Benson's two point layup
14:07		Kaleb Banks offensive rebound
13:50	+3	CJ Gunn makes three point jump shot	40-47
13:27	+2	Joson Sanon makes two point jump shot (Oziyah Sellers assists)	40-49
13:03		CJ Gunn misses two point jump shot
13:01		Dylan Darling defensive rebound
12:52		Jump ball. (Red Storm gains possession)
12:52		Zuby Ejiofor technical foul
12:52		Zuby Ejiofor turnover
12:52	+1	CJ Gunn makes technical free throw 1 of 2	41-49
12:52	+1	CJ Gunn makes technical free throw 2 of 2	42-49
12:44	+2	Dylan Darling makes two point layup	42-51
12:20		CJ Gunn misses three point jump shot
12:18		Dillon Mitchell defensive rebound
12:05	+3	Dylan Darling makes three point jump shot (Ruben Prey assists)	42-54
11:51		Kaleb Banks misses two point jump shot
11:49		Dillon Mitchell defensive rebound
11:42		Dillon Mitchell turnover (lost ball) (CJ Gunn steals)
11:33	+3	Kaleb Banks makes three point jump shot (CJ Gunn assists)	45-54
11:22		Oziyah Sellers misses three point jump shot
11:22		Blue Demons defensive rebound
11:22		Ruben Prey personal foul
11:22		TV timeout
11:12		CJ Gunn turnover (lost ball) (Ruben Prey steals)
11:00	+2	Ruben Prey makes two point layup	45-56
10:54		Kaleb Banks misses two point layup
10:52		Dillon Mitchell defensive rebound
10:45		Dillon Mitchell misses two point layup
10:43		Dillon Mitchell offensive rebound
10:34	+2	Dillon Mitchell makes two point layup	45-58
10:17		Dillon Mitchell personal foul
10:05		Kruz McClure turnover (lost ball) (Oziyah Sellers steals)
9:53		Kaleb Banks shooting foul (Oziyah Sellers draws the foul)
9:53	+1	Oziyah Sellers makes regular free throw 1 of 2	45-59
9:53	+1	Oziyah Sellers makes regular free throw 2 of 2	45-60
9:42	+2	Layden Blocker makes two point layup	47-60
9:35		Dylan Darling misses three point jump shot
9:33		Brandon Maclin defensive rebound
9:19	+2	Layden Blocker makes two point layup	49-60
9:08		Layden Blocker personal foul
9:01	+2	Oziyah Sellers makes two point layup (Zuby Ejiofor assists)	49-62
8:29		Layden Blocker misses two point jump shot
8:27		Dylan Darling defensive rebound
8:20		NJ Benson personal foul
8:07		NJ Benson shooting foul (Zuby Ejiofor draws the foul)
8:07	+1	Zuby Ejiofor makes regular free throw 1 of 2	49-63
8:07	+1	Zuby Ejiofor makes regular free throw 2 of 2	49-64
7:48		Brandon Maclin misses three point jump shot
7:46		Joson Sanon defensive rebound
7:33		Joson Sanon misses two point jump shot
7:31		Red Storm offensive rebound
7:18		TV timeout
7:18		Joson Sanon personal foul
6:58	+2	CJ Gunn makes two point jump shot	51-64
6:42		Joson Sanon misses three point jump shot
6:40		Red Storm offensive rebound
6:39		Kaleb Banks personal foul
6:35		Zuby Ejiofor misses two point layup
6:33		NJ Benson defensive rebound
6:23	+3	RJ Smith makes three point jump shot	54-64
6:08	+2	Dylan Darling makes two point layup	54-66
6:00		Joson Sanon blocks Kaleb Banks's two point layup
5:58		Blue Demons offensive rebound
5:55	+2	RJ Smith makes two point jump shot	56-66
5:45		NJ Benson shooting foul (Zuby Ejiofor draws the foul)
5:45	+1	Zuby Ejiofor makes regular free throw 1 of 2	56-67
5:45		Zuby Ejiofor misses regular free throw 2 of 2
5:45		Kaleb Banks defensive rebound
5:20		Layden Blocker misses two point jump shot
5:18		FabiÃ¡n Flores offensive rebound
5:06		Layden Blocker misses two point layup
5:04		Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound
4:53	+3	Oziyah Sellers makes three point jump shot (Dylan Darling assists)	56-70
4:45		Kaleb Banks misses two point layup
4:43		Oziyah Sellers defensive rebound
4:35		Oziyah Sellers misses three point jump shot
4:33		RJ Smith defensive rebound
4:27		RJ Smith misses three point jump shot
4:25		Joson Sanon defensive rebound
4:19		Oziyah Sellers misses three point jump shot
4:17		RJ Smith defensive rebound
3:58		Kaleb Banks misses three point jump shot
3:56		Zuby Ejiofor defensive rebound
3:31		Layden Blocker personal foul
3:31		TV timeout
3:31	+1	Dylan Darling makes regular free throw 1 of 2	56-71
3:31		Dylan Darling misses regular free throw 2 of 2
3:31		Dylan Darling offensive rebound
3:21		RJ Smith personal foul (Dylan Darling draws the foul)
3:21	+1	Dylan Darling makes regular free throw 1 of 2	56-72
3:21	+1	Dylan Darling makes regular free throw 2 of 2	56-73
3:06	+2	CJ Gunn makes two point jump shot (Brandon Maclin assists)	58-73
2:49		Dylan Darling misses two point layup
2:47		Kaleb Banks defensive rebound
2:39		RJ Smith misses three point jump shot
2:37		Kaleb Banks offensive rebound
2:37	+2	Kaleb Banks makes two point layup	60-73
2:34		Brandon Maclin personal foul (Dylan Darling draws the foul)
2:34	+1	Dylan Darling makes regular free throw 1 of 2	60-74
2:34		Dylan Darling misses regular free throw 2 of 2
2:34		CJ Gunn defensive rebound
2:20		NJ Benson turnover (Bryce Hopkins steals)
2:19		CJ Gunn shooting foul (Bryce Hopkins draws the foul)
2:19	+1	Bryce Hopkins makes regular free throw 1 of 2	60-75
2:19	+1	Bryce Hopkins makes regular free throw 2 of 2	60-76
2:15		NJ Benson turnover (bad pass) (Joson Sanon steals)
2:04		Lefteris Liotopoulos misses three point jump shot
2:02		RJ Smith defensive rebound
1:52		RJ Smith misses three point jump shot
1:50		Kaleb Banks offensive rebound
1:38		Kaleb Banks misses two point jump shot
1:36		Blue Demons offensive rebound
1:25		Lefteris Liotopoulos personal foul
1:12	+2	NJ Benson makes two point dunk (Brandon Maclin assists)	62-76
1:12		Blue Demons 30 second timeout
1:07	+3	Joson Sanon makes three point jump shot (Zuby Ejiofor assists)	62-79
0:39		Joson Sanon shooting foul (NJ Benson draws the foul)
0:39	+1	NJ Benson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	63-79
0:39	+1	NJ Benson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	64-79
0:26		Zuby Ejiofor misses two point jump shot
0:24		Brandon Maclin defensive rebound
0:11	+2	Kaleb Banks makes two point layup (Kruz McClure assists)	66-79
0:00		End of period

+ 2

Kaleb Banks makes two point layup (Kruz McClure assists)