Xavier 70, St. John’s 60: Justin Martin scored eight of his 15 points in a 13-0 run to start the second half and the host Musketeers rode the cushion to victory in the inaugural game in the reformed Big East Conference.

Semaj Christon and Matt Stainbrook, the leading scorers for Xavier, were held to four points apiece in the first half but Christon finished with 10 points and eight assists while Stainbrook added nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Isaiah Philmore contributed 11 points and nine rebounds for the Musketeers (11-3, 1-0 Big East).

D’Angelo Harrison scored 21 points and freshman guard Rysheed Jordan added a season-high 17 off the bench to lead St. John’s (9-4, 0-1). JaKarr Sampson contributed 10 points and eight rebounds for the Red Storm, who shot 30.9 percent from the field – including 25 percent in the second half – in their first true road game of the season.

Xavier got off to a rough start against St. John’s 2-3 zone, missing its first 11 field-goal attempts and falling behind 9-0 before Stainbrook made a layup with just under 12 minutes left. Xavier scored the final two points of the first half to cut the deficit to 29-27 and then scored the first 13 of the second to take a 40-29 lead.

Harrison ended the run with a 3-pointer at the 15-minute mark and the Red Storm managed to get back within four points with just under 10 minutes remaining. They hit another drought, however, and Xavier scored six unanswered points to move back ahead by 11 with 3:41 on the clock.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Xavier improved to 9-0 at home this season. … St. John's fell to 4-10 in its last 14 conference openers. … St. John’s C Chris Obekpa, who came in second in the nation in blocks (4.4), finished with four of the Red Storm’s seven blocked shots.