Rick Pitino bests son Richard Pitino as St. John’s passes first true test of season with win over New Mexico

Rick Pitino hugged Richard Pitino connected the Madison Square Garden sideline and rapidly engaged successful pregame pleasantries connected his mode to the St. John’s bench.

From that constituent on, it each was business.

Rick Pitino emerged victorious successful Sunday’s much-hyped coaching showdown betwixt begetter and son, arsenic No. 22 St. John’s utilized an uptempo onslaught to apical Richard Pitino and New Mexico, 85-71, astatine Madison Square Garden.

Junior guardant RJ Luis continued his red-hot commencement to what’s been a breakout play truthful far, starring St. John’s with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.

Prized transfers Deivon Smith and Kadary Richmond, who mostly relation arsenic facilitators though the Johnnies’ archetypal 3 games, some took implicit offensively for spurts of Sunday’s win.

Smith scored a season-high 15 points, portion Richmond added 14 on with 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

The balanced onslaught helped St. John’s walk its archetypal existent trial of the play to amended to 4-0, portion Rick Pitino, 72, improved to 3-1 each clip against his 42-year-old son.

The younger Pitino appeared to laughter arsenic St. John’s fans chanted “Who’s Your Daddy?” precocious successful the 2nd half.

St. John’s jumped retired to an aboriginal pb Sunday by repeatedly attacking the basket. The Johnnies went up 25-13 pb connected the spot of an 11-0 run, which Luis punctuated with a 3-pointer.

Leading the Red Storm’s way conscionable successful the archetypal fractional was Smith, who made 5 layups earlier the break, including 3 successful the last 4:26.

It was an assertive archetypal fractional for the constituent guard, whose 9 field-goal attempts matched his full-game play high. At halftime, helium had 12 points — 1 shy of his full-game play precocious to that point.

The 6-foot Smith, who transferred from Utah, took vantage of a New Mexico backcourt that appeared to tyre arsenic St. John’s pushed the pace.

The Johnnies took a 40-29 pb into the break. They scored 22 points successful the overgarment successful the archetypal half, outrebounded New Mexico, 25-14, and corralled 10 violative rebounds, starring to 10 second-chance points.

St. John’s led by arsenic galore arsenic 15 points successful the archetypal half, past held connected arsenic New Mexico made aggregate runs aft the break.

The Lobos chopped the shortage to arsenic fewer arsenic 4 points erstwhile halfway Nelly Junior Joseph finished a lay-up with 8:01 near successful the game. But Aaron Scott responded with a 3-pointer connected the adjacent possession, expanding the St. John’s pb to 66-59.

About 2 minutes later, the right-handed Richmond finished a contested left-handed floater to enactment the Johnnies up by nine. On the adjacent possession, Richmond lasered a cross-court walk to Scott, who finished a lay-up — but missed a escaped propulsion — to springiness the Red Storm a 72-61 lead.

Smith added a dagger 3-pointer with 4:28 remaining, putting St. John’s up by 12.

Richmond, who transferred from Seton Hall, scored 10 of his 14 points successful the 2nd half. Luis scored 16 points aft halftime.

New Mexico constituent defender Donovan Dent — who entered averaging 19.0 points and 9.7 assists per crippled — scored lone 5 points connected 2-of-5 shooting and managed conscionable 2 assists earlier halftime.

He finished with 12 points and six assists.

Sunday marked the 4th head-to-head gathering betwixt the Pitinos. Rick’s Louisville squad bushed Richard astatine FIU successful 2012 and astatine Minnesota successful 2014. Richard and New Mexico past bushed the elder Pitino’s Iona squad successful 2022.

Both Pitinos downplayed the oddity of going up against each other, with Richard saying Friday determination was “no other motivation” to bushed his dada and Rick saying helium doesn’t wage attraction to opposing coaches erstwhile the games start.

“If we lose, my squad volition beryllium precise disappointed, but I’ll beryllium precise blessed for my son,” Rick said during a property league Friday. “I’ve flown retired to New Mexico and taken red-eyes backmost conscionable to spot him, truthful I basal for him each the time. I’m a gigantic instrumentality of his. I anticipation St. John’s wins, but if they don’t, I’ll beryllium a arrogant father.”

Sunday besides marked a instrumentality to the Garden for Richard. He was a young kid erstwhile his begetter coached the Knicks during the 1980s — which helium said helium doesn’t retrieve — and coached determination arsenic an adjunct connected his dad’s Louisville staffs from 2007-09 and 2011-12.

Both teams entered Sunday’s crippled with 3-0 records, with New Mexico already boasting a ranked triumph implicit then-No. 22 UCLA.

The Johnnies steamrolled Fordham, Quinnipiac and Wagner – contempt a fewer uneven halves – earlier Sunday’s litmus trial against New Mexico.

An adjacent bigger trial awaits St. John’s, with a matchup against No. 12 Baylor successful the Baha Mar Hoops tourney successful the Bahamas acceptable for Thursday night.