St. John's Vs. Marquette Final Score: Dwight Hardy's 28 Points Helps Red Storm To 80-68 Road Victory

If you're a team in the Big East Conference, you don't want the St. John's basketball program on your upcoming schedule. Especially, after the Red Storm earned an impressive 80-68 road victory Tuesday night over the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI. Senior guard Dwight Hardy scored a game-best 28 points for the Johnnies (16-9, 8-5 Big East), who earned their fifth victory in six games. Currently, St. John's is tied for fifth place with the Villanova Wildcats in the Big East standings. Marquette (15-11, 6-7) has lost three of its last four contests.

Tied 38-38 at halftime, the Golden Eagles started the second half with a 7-0 run to take a 45-38 lead with 16:48 to play. St. John's responded with a 15-5 spurt, which featured seniors Hardy, Justin Brownlee, Justin Burrell, D.J. Kennedy, Sean Evans and Malik Boothe each scoring baskets, to earn a 53-50 lead with 11:38 to go. From there, the Red Storm took over and coasted to victory.

St. John's, which led by as much as 13 points with 4:42 remaining, finished 26-of-58 (44.8 percent) from the field and 5-of-14 (35.7) from behind the 3-point line. Kennedy chipped in with 15 points, while Brownlee added 11 points and seven rebounds. Burrell had 10-bench points and collected a team-best 12 rebounds.

Marquette shot 20-of-46 (43.5) on field goals and 3-of-14 from behind the 3-point land. The Golden Eagles kept the game competitive because they shot 25-of-32 (78.1) from the free-throw line. Senior guard Jimmy Butler tallied a team-best 23 points, while Marquette's leading scorer, junior guard Darius Johnson-Odom, netted just 14 points.

The St. John's basketball schedule features the Red Storm host No. 4 Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday (noon). Next week, St. John's host the DePaul Blue Demons Wednesday (7 p.m.) and at Villanova Saturday (2 p.m.).

St. John's Vs. Marquette Halftime Score: Red Stom And Golden Eagles Tied At 38-38

Senior guard Dwight Hardy has netted a team-best 12 points, but the visiting St. John's Red Storm are tied with the Marquette Golden Eagles, 38-38, at halftime of a Big East Conference matchup. The game has been a back-and-forth battle that has featured over a dozen lead changes.

St. John's (15-9, 7-5) collected the contest's biggest advantage, 24-20, after senior forward Justin Brownlee nailed a 3-pointer with 9:40 to play in the half. Brownlee has added seven points, while teammate senior forward D.J. Kennedy has four points and seven rebounds.

Marquette (15-10, 6-6) is led by junior guard Jimmy Butler, who has a game-best 13 points. Teammate junior forward Jae Crowder has chipped in with nine points and five rebounds. The Golden Eagles leading scorer, junior forward Darius Johnson-Odam, has eight points.

The Red Storm finished the half 13-of-30 (43.3 percent) from the floor and 4-of-10 from the 3-point arc. Marquette shot 11-of-28 (39.3) on field goals and 2-of-10 from 3-point land. At the free-throw line, Marquette is 14-of-15 (93.3), while St. John's is 8-of-12 (66.7).

St. John's Vs. Marquette: Streaking Red Storm Play At Golden Eagles

(Sports Network) -- The St. John's basketball program is clearly on a roll, as the Red Storm carries plenty of momentum into tonight's Big East Conference battle (9 p.m. on ESPNU) with the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI.

On Sunday, St. John's (15-9, 7-5 Big East) managed to edge the Cincinnati Bearcats on the road by a 59-57 final, marking the fourth win for the squad in the last five outings -- also during the span, the Red Storm beat the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils, Jan. 30, and the Connecticut Huskies, last Thursday. St. John's leading scorer, senior guard Dwight Hardy, is playing tremendous right now. On Feb. 6, Hardy scored 32 points against UCLA Bruins, then last Wednesday against UConn he netted 33. Hardy is currently averaging 16.6 points per game, while teammate senior forward Justin Brownlee is second-best with 12.6 ppg. The Red Storm are averaging 69.4 ppg and are holding opponents to 66.5 ppg.

Losses in two of the last three outings have Marquette (15-10, 6-6) trying to right a wondering ship. On Sunday, the Golden Eagles fell to Georgetown, 69-60. Marquette, which has lost all six league contest by single digits, is 12-2 at home this season. Through 25 outings, Marquette is scoring 77.8 ppg while allowing 68.6 ppg to opponents. Junior guard Darius Johson-Odom paces the club with 16.2 ppg. Teammate senior forward Jimmy Butler adds 15.2 ppg and 6.3 rebounds per game to the mix, while junior forward Jae Crowder provides 13.0 ppg and 6.6 rpg.

Marquette owns a 13-5 series advantage over St. John's, which includes 11 consecutive wins over the Red Storm.