It was St. John’s 79, Marquette 63 and it was Zuby Ejiofor (career-high 33 points with nine rebounds) who put his team on his back and carried it to this showdown against Creighton. It was Zuby Ejiofor who seemed to play with a raging intensity and refused to let the Johnnies lose and cede the night or the Garden to Marquette.

The junior forward delivered an overpowering performance Friday night for No. 6 St. John's, scoring a career-best 33 points — a school record in the Big East Tournament — as the Red Storm rolled into the conference championship game for the first time in 25 years with a 79-63 victory over No. 25 Marquette.

Zuby Ejiofor had 33 points, the most for a St. John's player in Big East Tournament history, as the Red Storm reached the final for the first time since 2000.