New Mexico
Deadspin | No. 22 St. John's meets New Mexico in battle of the Pitinos
St. John’s is about to see the degree of difficulty in its schedule increase, and the opener of that challenging stretch will be a family affair.
Unbeaten through three games and coming off its first win as a ranked team in nearly a decade, No. 22 St. John’s will host New Mexico on Sunday afternoon in New York in the fourth coaching matchup between Rick Pitino and his son Richard Pitino.
Rick Pitino is 2-1 against his son.
The Red Storm (3-0) are starting a week when they not only face New Mexico, but 12th-ranked Baylor on Thursday in the Baha Mar Hoops tournament in the Bahamas/ St. John’s might face 11th-ranked Tennessee or Virginia in that event.
St. John’s is coming off three wins in its on-campus arena in Queens over Fordham, Quinnipiac and Wagner by a combined 76 points.
“New Mexico is probably the No. 1 offensive-pace team in the country, and I know it better than anybody,” Rick Pitino said after the Red Storm earned their first win as a ranked team since Dec. 28, 2014.
“So we’ve got to get ready for this pace. They’ve got a great guard, they’ve got great support players, they’ve got a terrific inside player. This is a tough, tough test.”
The first three games featured moments when the Red Storm struggled, especially during Wednesday’s 66-45 win over Wagner. St. John’s scored 18 straight points to pull away in the final 10 minutes.
The Red Storm shot 50 percent from the field (21 of 42) but took 13 fewer shots than Wagner and missed 12 of 30 free throws.
RJ Luis Jr. scored 13 points as St. John’s top scorer, but Aaron Scott made three key shots during the decisive run and added 11. Scott made his key contributions after sitting out against Quinnipiac on Nov. 9 with an illness and tweaking his ankle in practice ahead of the Wagner game.
“We did our job against these three teams,” Rick Pitino said. “Now it’s really going to get tough.”
Pitino changed the starting lineup by having Kadary Richmond come off the bench along with Zuby Ejiofor, but both could return to starting on Sunday.
New Mexico (3-0) received 15 points in this week’s Top 25 poll and is seeking its second win over a ranked opponent this season. The Lobos knocked UCLA out of this week’s poll by beating the then-No. 22 Bruins 72-64 on Nov. 8.
New Mexico is attempting to start 4-0 for the second time in three seasons after earning a 100-81 home win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Tuesday, when the Lobos forced 22 turnovers following forcing 21 against UCLA.
Donovan Dent, who is averaging a team-high 19 points a game for the Lobos, totaled 25 points and 10 assists and continued his improvement from his sophomore season. Dent averaged 14.1 points on 52 percent shooting from the field but last season but is shooting 58.8 percent in 2024-25.
“It was a good win for our guys,” Richard Pitino said. “I thought they were ready to go. When you have a big win like UCLA, everyone is telling them how great they are. Then you have another big game against St. John’s coming up. I thought the mental approach was terrific to handle their business against (Corpus Christi).”
Besides Dent’s big showing on Tuesday, Kayde Dotson added 18 points and Tru Washington 15.
–Field Level Media
New Mexico authorities have accused Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield, known for series “The West Wing” and “Thirtysomething,” of child sex abuse.
A judge on Friday issued an arrest warrant for the 68-year-old actor on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and a single count of child abuse. The arrest warrant affidavit, reviewed by The Times on Sunday, accuses Busfield of inappropriately touching two child actors, who are brothers, during his tenure on the Fox crime drama “The Cleaning Lady.”
“The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions,” Fox and Warner Bros. Television said in a statement shared Sunday. “We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action. … We are aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
Busfield, who was an actor, producer and director for “The Cleaning Lady,” allegedly sexually assaulted of one of the young actors multiple times during his tenure. According to the affidavit, one child actor said Busfield first touched his “‘private areas’” multiple times on set when he was 7 years old. The actor said that when he was 8 years old, Busfield touched him inappropriately again several times. He was “afraid to tell anyone because Tim was the Director, and he feared Tim would get mad at him,” the affidavit said.
The second child actor said that Busfield “started touching them for the first two years” of his time on “The Cleaning Lady,” which filmed in Albuquerque, according to the complaint. The investigator said both children said they did not speak out about their alleged encounters with Busfield out of fear or concern for him.
The actors’ mother, per the complaint, reported the alleged abuse to Child Protective Services in October 2025, claiming that Busfield sexually abused her children from November 2022 to spring 2024. Police began investigating the alleged abuse in November 2024 after receiving a request from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital.
According to the affidavit, the investigation also included interviews with the children’s therapists and doctors. One of the child actors, who disclosed the alleged abuse by Busfield to his therapist, has issues with bed-wetting “along with other behavior issues,” was diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety and has suffered nightmares “about the director touching him,” according to the complaint.
The investigator also spoke to numerous cast and crew members of “The Cleaning Lady,” which was canceled in June after four seasons. The affidavit details the investigator’s conversations with production assistants, the studio teacher and Busfield.
Busfield, married to actor Melissa Gilbert, told the investigator that “Cleaning Lady” producer Warner Bros. Television notified him in the spring of 2025 of an investigation regarding complaints “about him from the boys.” When asked whether he had any physical contact with the two child actors, Busfield “said it was highly likely that he would have,” the complaint said. He suggested to the investigator that the boys’ mother might have sought “revenge” on the director for “not bringing her kids back for the final season,” according to the complaint.
Though Busfield confirmed the identities of the young actors to the investigator in his interview, he allegedly said later, “ ‘I don’t remember those boys’ ” and “ ‘I don’t remember overtly tickling the boys ever, but it wouldn’t be uncommon for me.’ ”
The complaint also details Warner Bros.’ investigation into Busfield’s alleged behavior. The studio started its investigation after receiving an anonymous tip in February 2025 from the SAG-AFTRA hotline regarding a December 2024 incident. Busfield allegedly entered the hair and makeup trailer and “kissed a minor male on the face as the minor was getting a haircut.” The complaint further alleged “there are pictures of Mr. Busfield, ‘tickling and caressing the head and body of minor boys.’ ”
Neither Fox or Warner Bros. immediately responded to a request for comment on Sunday, but a spokesperson for the latter told the New York Times it is “aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
Busfield received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Elliot Weston in the ABC drama “Thirtysomething” in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. He also appeared in “Field of Dreams,” “Little Big League,” “The Byrds of Paradise” and other titles. He is perhaps best known for his recurring role in “The West Wing” as Danny Concannon, a White House correspondent who strikes up a relationship with Press Secretary C.J. Clegg, played by Allison Janney.
In addition to television and film, Busfield is a stage actor and director. In 1991, Busfield and his brother Buck Busfield created the B Street Theatre, a nonprofit theater in Sacramento that first began as a touring theater group for children. He also pitched for baseball team the Sacramento Smokeys and was inducted into the Sacramento Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Prior to the allegations from his time on “The Cleaning Lady,” Busfield was accused in 1994 of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old actor who appeared on “Little Big League.” He denied those claims and sued his accuser for defamation. The case ended in a settlement, with a judge ordering Busfield to pay the woman $150,000.
Authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant Friday for director and Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield to face a child sex abuse charge.
An investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department filed a criminal complaint in support of the charge, which says a child reported that Busfield touched him inappropriately. The acts allegedly occurred on the set of “The Cleaning Lady,” a TV series Busfield directed and acted in.
The child said the first incident happened when he was 7 years old and Busfield touched him three or four times. Busfield allegedly touched him five or six times on another occasion when he was 8.
The child’s mother reported to Child Protective Services that the abuse occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024, the complaint said.
Busfield’s attorney and agent did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment late Friday.
The arrest warrant, which was signed by a judge, said the charge is for two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor.
According to the complaint, the child, which it identifies only by his initials, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. A social worker documented him saying he has had nightmares about Busfield touching him and woken up scared.
The child was reportedly afraid to tell anyone because Busfield was the director and he feared he would get mad at him.
The investigation began in November 2024, when the investigator responded to a call from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital. The child’s parents had gone there at the recommendation of a law firm, the complaint said.
“The Cleaning Lady” aired for four seasons on Fox, ending in 2025. It starred Elodie Yung as a Cambodian doctor who comes to the United States to get medical treatment for her son, witnesses a mob killing and ends up becoming a cleaner for organized crime.
The show was produced by Warner Bros., which according to the complaint conducted its own investigation into the abuse allegations but was unable to corroborate them.
Busfield is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething,” the latter of which won him an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series in 1991.
He is married to actor Melissa Gilbert; there was no immediate response to an email sent to her publicist.
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