No. 13 St. John's Red Storm opened the 2026–27 men's college basketball season with a 78-63 victory over the Monmouth Hawks on Monday night at Carnesecca Arena in Queens.
St. John's Keyshawn Hall — a transfer from Auburn — scored 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. He made all seven of his free throws in 33 minutes. Hall hit his first six field goal attempts, including a three-pointer that gave St. John's a 31-16 lead with nine minutes remaining in the first half. His putback with 4:13 left before halftime pushed his total to 20 points and helped the Red Storm take a 45-29 lead into the break.
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Ian Jackson added 15 points, 13 after halftime, before fouling out. Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou scored 12 points. Quinn Ellis, St. John's new point guard from England, recorded eight points, seven assists, and five of the team’s 13 steals.
St. John's shot 41% from the field and 6 of 20 from three-point range. Monmouth shot 42.9% but committed 18 turnovers. Jakai Sanders led the Hawks with 17 points; Madison Burr added 15.
Before tipoff, St. John's unveiled banners honoring its 2026 Big East regular-season and tournament championships, as well as its NCAA Tournament appearance and Sweet 16 run. The Red Storm lost Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins, and Dillon Mitchell from last season’s 30-win team.
Monmouth travels to face Rhode Island on Saturday. St. John's hosts Iona on Sunday at Madison Square Garden — the first of 13 regular-season home games there this season.
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