Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic
INDIANAPOLIS — It was expected that it would be ugly.
A rock fight. A struggle.
So much of St. John’s success this year has been built on its ability to win that way. To prevail despite so much going wrong.
It felt just right, that on the night it clinched a share of the Big East regular season crown, that it was a game like this.
A slugfest in which the seventh-ranked Johnnies weren’t at their best — they were outrebounded by seven and outscored from the 3-point line — and never could pull away from disappointing Butler despite a fast start.
In the end, in crunch time, when the game was up for grabs, St. John’s made the winning plays at both ends of the floor like it has almost all season.
Now, after this gritty 76-70 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Johnnies can clinch the program’s first outright league title since 1985 Saturday against Seton Hall and will at worst share the crown with Creighton.
It’s the first time since 1992 that St. John’s has clinched a share of the Big East title. They also set a program record for most league wins in a single season with 16.
“We [haven’t] accomplished anything yet. I don’t want to share [the title], the team doesn’t want to share,” Big East Player of the Year contender RJ Luis Jr. said. “We put in a lot of work this season, and we kind of let Coach [Rick Pitino] down a little bit defensively [tonight]. But he said, ‘good teams know how to win when they have a bad game,’ and we had a bad game and we ended up winning.”
Zuby Ejiofor saved his best for last, scoring six of his 12 points in the final 5:48. Luis hit two clutch free throws with 1:48 to go to push the lead to four.
Deivon Smith added two more critical ones at the line.
And St. John’s locked down Butler when it mattered most, outscoring the Bulldogs, 16-7, over the last 5:48.
“With [five minutes] to go in the game, we made all the right plays to win the game, and that’s all that counts,” Pitino said.
There was no celebration after the win. That can come Saturday, though Pitino indicated he doesn’t anticipate St. John’s cutting down the nets at the Garden if it is victorious.
Luis had 24 points and four rebounds to lead the way, and Kadary Richmond added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Jahmyl Tefort scored 13 points for Butler (13-15, 6-11).
St. John’s (25-4, 16-2) started the night like it was shot out of a rocket, quickly racing out to a double-digit lead, 17-7, just 5:50 after the opening tip.
The Johnnies hit their first four shots and got out in transition, quickly forcing a Butler timeout.
They cooled off from there, held to 21 points over the final 14:10 of the opening half.
Ejiofor was limited to eight minutes due to foul trouble, a major factor in St. John’s letting Butler hang around.
The Bulldogs started the second half the way St. John’s started the first.
They scored on five of its first six second-half possessions and trailed by just one after a Patrick McCaffrey offensive rebound and follow, forcing a Pitino timeout.
St. John’s responded with six consecutive points, but Butler answered with seven in a row to get even at 51 with 11:16 left.
It took its first lead since the opening minute when Kolby King, the former St. John’s guard, completed a three-point play with 7:38 remaining.
Luis, however, scored on the other end, giving St. John’s the lead for good. He then threw home a dunk to push the difference to five and the Johnnies were able to hold on despite an uneven performance.
“That’s kind of how our entire season has gone — ups and downs, and just fighting through adversity and finding ways to come up with a win,” Ejiofor said.
It sets up a possible party Saturday afternoon at MSG. St. John’s is hopeful of a third consecutive sellout.
After how painful last year ended, with the Johnnies not getting their name called on Selection Sunday, this has been a storybook season.
“I feel like every other game we’re doing something new, we’re breaking records and stuff like that,” Luis said. “Just to know that come Saturday, if we take care of business, we get a regular season title. It hasn’t been done in 40 years,” Luis said. “I think the Garden is going to be amazing. Seton Hall is going to try to play its best game against us. We have to defend our house, like we’ve been doing all season. Me and the team, we want to stay undefeated at home.”
