Kadary Richmond, Deivon Smith lead St. John’s past DePaul

CHICAGO — Early in the season, Deivon Smith was the St. John’s playmaker leading the way.

Once he suffered that bruised right shoulder in early January, Kadary Richmond started to take over.

Now, the two dynamic lead guards seem to be hitting their stride together.

Even without leading scorer and Big East Player of the Year candidate RJ Luis (groin), No. 10 St. John’s had no problem crushing DePaul on Wednesday night, 82-58, because the duo were at their best.

Smith appears back to his pre-injury self and Richmond continues to excel.

They combined for 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, making up for Luis’ absence.

Zuby Ejiofor added 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks and Sadiku Ibine Ayo, starting in place of Luis, had a career-high 15 points and tallied five rebounds and two assists.

While Smith was out, Richmond elevated his game.

He said his teammate’s eventual return wouldn’t negatively impact him.

It hasn’t.

The two look to be playing off each other well, the speedy, uber-athletic Smith and the shifty and more methodical Richmond.

Smith hit three 3-pointers, a key part of the Red Storm’s strong night from downtown.

Richmond did his thing in the paint, creating for himself and others.

This was the blueprint when St. John’s landed the talented guards back in May in the span of 24 hours — for these two playmakers to thrive next to one another.

There have been only glimpses of it.

But as March nears, and St. John’s continues to stack victories, it appears to be happening for them.

The win inched the Johnnies (23-4, 14-2) ever closer to their first outright Big East regular season crown since the 1984-85 season.

They lead No. 16 Marquette and Creighton by two games in the loss column with four games remaining.

Up next is Connecticut at a sold-out Garden on Sunday afternoon.

St. John’s first basket was a Ibine Ayo jumper, the sign of his big night to come.

By halftime, the junior had already notched 13 with three 3-pointers.

His previous high was eight, two years ago with Iona in the MAAC Tournament semifinals.

Overall, it was a solid opening 20 minutes for the Johnnies.

They made 7 of 12 3-point attempts, turned 11 DePaul turnovers into 11 points and shot a blistering 48 percent.

Smith and Richmond combined for nine of the team’s 12 assists on 17 made field goals.

After a slow start defensively, the Red Storm picked it up at that end of the floor.

DePaul managed only five points over the final 8:36 of the period and committed five turnovers in the last 4:54 while missing seven of its last eight shots of the half.

In that 8:36 span entering intermission, St. John’s outscored DePaul 21-5, turning a tie game into a comfortable margin.

St. John’s one problem: Leaving DePaul sharpshooter Isaiah Rivera.

He made three 3-pointers and scored 13 points in the opening stanza.

Aside from Rivera, the Blue Demons made only 4-of-16 shots from the field to start.

In addition to Luis, St. John’s was also without reserves Vince Iwuchukwu (illness) and Jaiden Glover (wrist).