The St. John’s Red Storm started the first half strong but the No. 4-ranked Syracuse Orange finished the first half on a roll and lead 35-24 at halftime.
Behind senior forward Justin Brownlee’s five points, the Red Storm (10-4, 3-1 Big East) took an early 17-9 lead at about the halfway point of the first half.
However, Syracuse (16-0, 3-0) finished the half on a 26-7 run to take a sizable advantage into the locker room.
Currently, SU forward Kris Joseph has a game-best nine points. Teammate Brandon Triche added seven points, which included a lay up and 3-point basket that came in the last two minutes.
Starting point guard Dwight Hardy leads the Johnnies with eight points. Hardy nailed back-to-back 3-pointers, which closed the SU advantage to 25-24 with about three minutes to go, but SU rallied off 10-straight points to end the half.
SU shooting stats: 14 of 28 (50 percent). St. John’s: 10 of 29 (34.5).
Syracuse started the game by shooting 3-for-12 from the floor.
St. John’s 1-2-2 zone has forced Syracuse to turn the ball over 10 times. The Red Storm have committed nine turnovers.