St. John's holds off a late run, beats Xavier 78-70

CINCINNATI (AP) Sir'Dominic Pointer matched his career-high with 24 points and St. John's held on to beat Xavier 78-70 on Saturday.

Xavier (16-10, 7-7 Big East) trailed by nine points midway through the second half, but a 12-4 run made it a one-point game with five minutes to play. Trevon Bluiett had a three-point play to keep Xavier close, but Pointer responded with three points on the other end and Rysheed Jordan hit a trey to give St. John's a six-point advantage with one minute remaining.

Pointer, who shot 9 of 10 overall, dunked with 18 seconds left for the final margin.

D'Angelo Harrison finished with 18 points, scoring 13 of those in the first half. The Red Storm (17-8, 6-6) shot 51.8 percent overall and 13 of 16 at the free throw line.

Matt Stainbrook scored 17 points, Bluiett had 16 and Dee Davis finished with nine assists for Xavier.