Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the number of players ejected from the game.
PROVIDENCE – A hard foul by Duncan Powell on ex-Friar Bryce Hopkins sparked a fight between Providence and St. John’s in the second-half of Saturday afternoon’s Big East showdown in downtown Providence.
Hopkins raced down the left wing for a layup attempt and Hopkins came on the diagonal to meet him at the rim. Officials immediately called an intentional foul with 14:25 to play in the second half and went to the monitor.
“As bad as it was, it could’ve been a lot worse,” said commentator Grant Hill on the TNT broadcast.
The Friars held a 40-39 lead at the time of the review. It was a return to Amica Mutual Pavilion for Hopkins after three seasons with Providence, and he was the target of profane chants by the crowd from the opening tip. St. John’s would go on to outscore the Friars following the stoppage in play and leave with a 79-69 win.
Powell was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul. The Friars’ Jaylin Sellers was also ejected. For St. John’s, Dillon Mitchell, Kelvin Odih, Ruben Prey and Sadiku Ibine Ayo were ejected in the wake of the foul on Hopkins.
Then, later in the second half, Providence’s Jamier Jones was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul on St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor. Jones becomes the seventh ejection of the game, third for the Friars.
Hopkins is in his first season at St. John’s, formerly starring at Providence. Hopkins played for Providence from 2022-2025. He’s averaging 13.8 points and 5.6 rebounds this season under head coach Rick Pitino.
St. John’s entered Saturday’s game as the No. 17 team in the nation, boasting a 19-5 overall record, and 12-1 mark in Big East play. Their one conference loss came to Providence on Jan. 3, a 77-71 setback in Madison Square Garden.
The Red Storm had rattled off a 10-game winning streak since that loss to the Friars. St. John’s extended its run to 10 games on Monday with an 87-82 overtime home victory over coach Pitino’s son, Richard, and Xavier. And it was Hopkins who shined in that game.
He scored 19 points, and pulled down nine rebounds, combining to shoot 13 of 22 from the field and provide St. John’s with half of its scoring.
“When the game was on the line, really, Bryce Hopkins won the game,” Pitino said. “He made big plays for us on the defensive end, and he was outstanding in the final seven, eight minutes.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Seven ejected in PC-St. John’s game after foul on ex-Friars star Bryce Hopkins