NEW YORK -- So much for St. John's three-game winning streak.

Tenth-ranked Creighton came into Carnesecca Arena and snapped the Red Storm's momentum 85-72 before a near-capacity crowd of 4,928 on Wednesday night.

The Bluejays (14-1, 2-1 Big East) were coming off their lone loss of the season at home to No. 1 Villanova on Saturday, but quickly got back on the winning track. Villanova suffered its first loss of the year when it fell at No. 18 Butler earlier Wednesday.

Coach Chris Mullin's St. Johns club lost its first conference game of the season after defeating former Big East member Syracuse, and Butler and DePaul in league play.

A win over Creighton would have given St. John's (8-8, 2-1) its first win over a top-10 team on campus since Dec. 9, 1975, when it beat no. 7 Tennessee at what was then known as Alumni Hall.

"This is a really good win for us," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "The last three games that St. John's has played have been very impressive. I was scared to death of this game and fortunately our guys were really good defensively the first half."

St. John's had no answer for 7-foot redshirt freshman Justin Patton, who finished with a career-high 25 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists. Patton went for 14 points and five rebounds in the first half when Creighton built a 44-26 lead.

"He's a big dude, he has multiple moves. We just didn't have an answer for him really," said St. John's freshman guard Marcus LoVett, who led his team with 23 points on 7-for-17 shooting.

"He's a great player. We tried to stop him as much as we could."

Mullin said he definitely sees pro potential in the 7-footer.

"He reminds me of Marcus Camby ... especially tonight," Mullin said.

McDermott also praised Patton, who first began as a guard before a seven-inch growth spurt made him into a center.

"Justin's best basketball is still ahead of him," the coach said. "He just continues to grow and improve. A lot of it has to do with his work ethic and how he realizes the value of competing. His low post game continues to develop."

Patton said he feeds off the excitement of teammates Maurice Watson and Marcus Foster.

Watson, a junior guard, added 19 points (including making 3 of 4 from beyond the arc), five assists and four rebounds for the Bluejays, who visit Providence on Saturday. Foster, also a junior guard, tallied 15 points for Creighton.

Freshman Shamorie Ponds, who already won three Big East Freshman of the Week honors, had an off night early while being guarded by Khryi Thomas, but came on strong in the second half. He finished shooting 6-for-13 for 17 points.

"Khryi's been solid for us all year defensively," McDermott said. "He guarded (Villanova's) Josh Hart this weekend and Josh only scored five points. He's really developed as a defensive player."

Tariq Owens, St. John's 6-foot-11 forward who was partly tasked with defending Patton on the defensive end, was a bright spot on the offensive end, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds.

St. John's closed to within 63-55 at the 6:15 mark when LoVett drove in for a layup, but Watson hit a 3-pointer on the other end to push the lead back to double-digits.

Creighton led 70-60 when Watson hit a step-back 3-pointer with about three minutes remaining to extend the lead to 73-60.

St. John's visits No. 16 Xavier on Saturday.

NOTES: St. John's outscored Creighton 46-41 after intermission. ... The Red Storm already won as many games this season as it did all of last year, when it went 8-24 during Mullin's first year at the helm. ... St. John's had several recruits at the game, including uncommitted Class of 2018 Hudson (N.J.) Catholic shooting guard Luther Muhammad. ... The Red Storm's 76-73 victory over Butler on Dec. 29 was the program's first over a top 15 opponent at home since a victory over No. 13 Syracuse on Feb. 22, 1983.