Joel Soriano posted another double-double and added a career-high six blocks Wednesday night for host St. John's, which never trailed in an 81-66 win over Xavier in the Big East opener for both schools in New York.

Soriano had 18 points and 14 rebounds in his seventh double-double this season for St. John's (8-3, 1-0 Big East), which won in Rick Pitino's first game as a Big East coach since he directed Louisville to a national championship in 2013.

Nahiem Alleyne scored 15 points, while Chris Ledlum (13 points), Daniss Jenkins (11 points) and Jordan Dingle (10 points) all got into double figures for the Red Storm.

Desmond Claude also had a double-double (21 points, 12 rebounds) for Xavier (6-6, 0-1 Big East), which shot just 34.9 percent from the floor, including 19 percent (4-of-21) from beyond the arc. Quincy Olivari added 13 points.

Jenkins scored five points in a game-opening 8-0 run for St. John's. Xavier missed its first four shots and committed two turnovers before mounting a 15-9 run and pulling within 17-15 on two free throws by Claude with 12:21 left.

Glenn Taylor Jr. turned the ball over on St. John's' next trip, but Dayvion McKnight missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer for Xavier. The Red Storm remained ahead by between three and nine points the rest of the half and took a 44-36 lead on Dingle's jumper just before the buzzer.

Ledlum began the second half with a 3-pointer to put the Red Storm ahead by double digits for good and begin another defensive-fueled run for St. John's, which outscored Xavier 9-2 while the Musketeers went 0-for-9 from the field with three turnovers in the first 4:38.

Xavier got within 10 points at 64-54 on two free throws by Claude with 6:49 left, but Soriano scored 10 points down the stretch and slammed home a dunk to give St. John's its biggest lead at 79-59 with 2:14 left.

--Field Level Media