NEW YORK (AP) Isaiah Jackson scored 18 points, Alpha Diallo and Jalen Lindsey added 17 apiece, and Providence beat St. John's 86-75 on Saturday to close its regular season with its sixth straight win.
Emmitt Holt had 14 for the Friars (20-11, 10-8), who entered tied for fourth in Big East Conference standings with Seton Hall and Marquette and have clinched a first-round bye in the league tournament.
Lindsey's 3 put the Friars up for good, 6-4, and Providence led 37-25 at halftime behind his 10 points and Kalif Young's 10 rebounds after shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and holding the Red Storm to 29.7 percent.
St. John's closed to within eight points early in the second half, but Providence led by 18 with 8:29 left after an 8-2 run capped by Young's tip-in. The Red Storm closed to 82-75 on Shamorie Ponds' layup with 19 seconds left.
Ponds scored a career-high 29 points for a St. John's record 545 points in a single season, breaking D'Angelo Harrison's mark. The Red Storm (13-18, 7-11) face Georgetown Wednesday in the tournament's opening round.
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