Ninth-ranked St. John’s is in control of its Big East destiny.

That much was clear after Sunday’s 79-73 win over No. 24 Creighton at the Garden increased the red-hot Red Storm’s lead in the conference standings to two games with five to play.

But what was perhaps most significant was how St. John’s won.

Sunday’s slugfest in front of a sellout crowd of 19,812 was far from pretty. The Johnnies shot just 38.4% from the field and went 6-of-18 from 3-point range. They missed 12 free throws.

Yet smothering defense, tireless effort and relentless rebounding fueled another win for St. John’s (22-4).

“When you see a team shoot 38% from the field, 33% from three and 58.6% from the free-throw line, you’re gonna lose by double digits, but every single night, this team wins,” coach Rick Pitino said. “It’s an amazing thing, and I think it’s because they get more possessions (and) they work so hard from the defensive end.”

Despite a distinct size disadvantage, St. John’s outrebounded Creighton, 45-42, and corralled

a whopping 20 offensive boards, leading to 20 second-chance points.

Eight of those offensive rebounds came from 6-9 forward Zuby Ejiofor, who totaled nine rebounds with 18 points and five assists.

Junior guard RJ Luis Jr. led St. John’s with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while senior guard Kadary Richmond added 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Defensively, the Red Storm’s press disrupted the Creighton offense, contributing to 15 turnovers that led to another 20 points.

That aggressive style of play limited how often Creighton could set up a half-court offense anchored by 7-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is four inches taller than Ejiofor, the biggest St. John’s starter.

Creighton managed only 20 points in the game’s final 14 minutes and 50 seconds.

“Their defense is outstanding,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said.

Sunday’s win came in a crucial swing game, as St. John’s began the day with a one-game lead over Creighton for first place in the Big East.

Creighton won the teams’ first meeting, 57-56, in Omaha on Dec. 31 and would have clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker over St. John’s with a victory Sunday.

Instead, St. John’s improved to 13-2 in Big East play, while Creighton fell to 11-4.

Sunday marked a bounce back for St. John’s, whose 10-game win streak ended Wednesday with a 73-71 loss at Villanova.

“We know we didn’t bring it with our defense at ‘Nova,” Richmond said. “We weren’t who we were, and we just made an emphasis of that. We came out tonight and executed.”

Ejiofor’s defensive physicality made life difficult for Kalkbrenner, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Kalkbrenner missed six minutes in the second half after getting tangled up with Luis on a rebound attempt, injuring his right foot, but managed to return with 3:47 left in the game.

Meanwhile, St. John’s got a boost from Deivon Smith, who surprisingly suited up four days after Pitino said the senior point guard could miss the remainder of the regular season.

Smith, who tweaked his neck at a recent practice after missing time last month with a shoulder injury, scored eight points in 26 minutes off the bench Sunday. His athleticism proved pivotal in the St. John’s press.

“He said, ‘I feel good and ready to go.’ It’s one of the biggest shocks of the year for me, because I thought we were looking at, the earliest, after Connecticut (on Feb. 23),” Pitino said of Smith, who was cleared after going through a player-development session Saturday.

“Without him tonight, we don’t win this game.”

Now in its second season under Pitino, St. John’s seeks its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2019 and its first Big East regular-season title since 1992.

Next up is a road game Wednesday against DePaul, which ranks last in the Big East with a 2-13 record in conference play.

“This was a great win, but we have to move on,” Ejiofor said. “We’ve got DePaul. Every game in the Big East is really tough. You’re gonna get the best out of absolutely everybody.”