Mussini scores 18 to lead St. John's over UMBC 75-53

JAMAICA, N.Y. (AP) Federico Mussini scored 18 points, dished six assists and grabbed four rebounds, leading St. John's to a 75-53 win over Maryland-Baltimore County on Monday.

Leading by 9 points at the half, St. John's lead shrank to 3 on Rodney Elliott's 3-pointer with 16:08 to play.

But the Red Storm used a 15-6 run to pull away and maintained a comfortable lead for the duration of the game.

Ron Mvouika had 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting for St. John's (2-0), and Durand Johnson had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Yankuba Sima had five of the team's 11 blocks. Mussini was 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.

Elliott and Joe Sherburne both had 16 points for UMBC (0-2), which shot just 27 percent from the field and missed on its first six shots. Cody Joyce had 7 points and 10 rebounds.