NEW YORK (AP) Marcus LoVett scored 19 points, Shamorie Ponds added 17 and Tariq Owens had a double-double to lead St. John's to a 78-70 win over Seton Hall on Saturday.

Owens had 12 rebounds and 10 points, plus four blocks, for the Red Storm (12-14, 6-7 Big East). Bashir Ahmed added 11 points for St. John's, which closed the first half of a 16-3 run to open a 37-27 lead.

The Pirates (15-9, 5-7), whose last two games were overtime victories, scored six straight early in the second half to get within six but got no closer as the Red Storm had an 11-2 run to go up 52-37 with 13:20 to play. Seton Hall got the deficit to single digits several times in the last five minutes but each time St. John's responded. The Red Storm went 14 of 15 from the foul line in the second half.

Desi Rodriguez led the Pirates with 17 points. Khadeen Carrington had 14 and Angel Delgado (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Michael Nzei (11 and 12) had double-doubles.

St. John's turned 18 Seton Hall turnovers into 30 points while committing just eight turnovers.

Copyright 2017 by STATS LLC. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited.