Bryce Hopkins had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Oziyah Sellers added 12 points as 17th-ranked St. John’s held off host Marquette 76-70 in a Big East matchup Wednesday in Milwaukee, Wis., extending its winning streak to 12 games.
St. John’s (21-5, 14-1 Big East) moved atop the conference, a half-game in front of No. 5 UConn, which was upset by Creighton 91-84 on Wednesday. The Red Storm has not lost since a 77-71 setback against Providence on Jan. 3.
Nigel James Jr. had 25 points and Royce Parham 13 for Marquette (9-18, 4-12 Big East), which has lost four of its last five games.
Joson Sanon’s 3-pointer put St. John’s up 67-61 with 6:37 remaining, but neither team scored again until Zuby Ejofor hit a free throw with 4:10 left to make it 68-61.
Sanon’s subsequent free throw put St. John’s up 71-63 with just under three minutes left. Adrian Stevens hit a 3-pointer and Tre Norman hit the second of two free throws to pull Marquette within 71-67 with 44 seconds remaining.
James converted a three-point play to make it 72-70 with 27.5 seconds left. Ejofor’s two free throws pushed the lead to 74-70 with 21.1 seconds remaining.
Marquette’s Chase Ross missed a baseline runner and Hopkins added a pair of free throws.
Marquette erased a nine-point halftime deficit with an 11-point run to open the second half. Ross’s 3-pointer from the top put the Golden Eagles in front 46-44 as St. John’s missed its first five shots after the break.
James scored on consecutive drives to put Marquette in front 56-50 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
St. John’s responded with a nine-point run, going in front 59-56 on Hopkins’ 3-pointer.
St. John’s closed the first half with a 10-4 run for a 44-35 halftime lead. The Red Storm shot 54.8 in the first half, hitting 7 of their final 8 shots.
