It started with — who else? — Zuby Ejiofor.

Seton Hall was on a run, and the Pirates fans — and the Connecticut ones who had arrived early — were getting loud.

A 19-point lead was down to six.

There was still 4:41 left on the clock.

Then, Ejiofor scored inside.

He blocked a shot.

Joson Sanon added two free throws, Dillon Mitchell came up with a steal.

Soon, it was a 7-0 run.

St. John’s wasn’t going to blow this lead, or a chance at repeating as Big East Tournament champions.

Zuby Ejiofor attempts a shot during the St. John’s game against Seton Hall on March 13, 2026. Robert Sabo for the NY Post

For the first time since 1999-2000, St. John’s is headed to back-to-back conference tournament title games, after this hard-fought 78-68 victory over local rival and fourth seed Seton Hall at the Garden on Friday night.

Ejiofor improved to 6-1 in Big East Tournament games after finishing with 20 points and five rebounds.

Sanon added 15 points and Dillon Mitchell (six rebounds, five assists) and Bryce Hopkins (seven rebounds, four assists) each had 13.

Adam “Budd” Clark had 17 points and 11 assists for Seton Hall, which will likely miss the NCAA Tournament.

The Johnnies will meet the winner of No. 2 Connecticut/No. 11 Georgetown in the nightcap Saturday night at 6:30 p.m.

They have now won 18 of their past 19 games and have five straight Big East Tournament victories by double figures.

Shaheen Holloway reacts during Seton Hall’s loss to St. John’s on March 13. Robert Sabo for the NY Post

The start was almost an exact replay of Thursday’s win over Providence, St. John’s racing out to an 8-0 lead, with all eight points coming inside.

Seton Hall didn’t let the Johnnies run away and hide immediately. That happened later, with a pair of 11-0 runs.

The first one, fueled by seven points from Sanon, enabled St. John’s to take an eight-point lead into the break.

Dillon Mitchell attempts a shot during St. John’s March 13 win over Seton Hall. Robert Sabo for the NY Post

The second one helped them blow it open.

To start the second half, St. John’s scored on its first four possessions, while holding the Pirates without a point on their five possessions.

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At that point, the lead was 19, and Seton Hall was on the ropes.

Sanon, Mitchell and Ejiofor combined for 32 of St. John’s 38 points on 13-for-22 shooting over the first 20 minutes.

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The Red Storm shot a blistering 51 percent from the field in the first half and piled up 24 points in the paint.

They also held the Seton Hall standouts, Clark and AJ Staton-McCray, to a combined seven points on 3-for-11 shooting.

Over the first 11:08 of the second half, Seton Hall managed just six points.

The Pirates were held without a point over the first 5:35 of the stanza.

They did string together seven points in a row to get within 12 at the under-8 media timeout, and it was only a six-point game after a Staton-McCray 3-pointer with 4:41 remaining.

But Ejiofor scored on the other end, then blocked Jacob Dar inside and Sanon added two free throws to push the lead back to 10.