No. 23 St. John's 53, Saint Mary's 47: D'Angelo Harrison scored 21 points and the Red Storm got past a sluggish first half to top the visiting Gaels.

Sir'Dominic Pointer had 11 points and a season high-tying 11 rebounds for St. John's (9-1), which shot just 35.8 percent while improving to 7-0 at home. Chris Obekpa contributed eight points and seven boards as the Red Storm survived a 47-29 disadvantage on the glass.

Brad Waldow recorded his fifth straight double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead Saint Mary's (6-3), which hurt itself with a 9-for-17 effort at the line. Waldow's fellow starters were 4-for-17 from the floor in the Gaels' second straight loss.

The Gaels went more than three minutes without a basket to begin the game before Waldow's hoop ignited an early 10-0 run and his jumper in the final minute of the first half put Saint Mary's up 33-18. The Red Storm burst out of the locker room to score the first seven points of the second half and both Phil Greene IV and Harrison hit 3-pointers in an 8-0 burst that cut the deficit to 37-33 with under 14 minutes left.

Waldow's jumper with 10:51 to go made it 41-35 but St. John's responded with 10 straight points to claim its first lead since the game's early moments. Waldow's dunk and Dane Pineau's three-point play pulled the Gaels within a point with 2:42 remaining but they would not score again, missing five shots and two free throws while Pointer and Greene combined for the final five points.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Obekpa fouled out with 2:42 left. ... The teams combined to make 6-of-26 3-pointers. ... Red Storm G Rysheed Jordan, who entered second on the team in scoring (15.4), finished with six points on 2-of-11 shooting.