St. John's took control of the game with a late first-half run and then pulled away over the final 20 minutes in taking a 91-57 win over Butler Friday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y.

Julian Champagnie led the Red Storm with 31 points on 11-of-22 shooting. He hit four three-pointers.

St. John's ended the first half by hitting 12 of their final 14 attempts to take a 46-30 halftime advantage after Posh Alexander banked in a three-pointer at the horn. A 17-3 St. John's run turned a one-point Butler advantage into a 36-23 lead with 3:06 remaining in the opening stanza.

The St. John's momentum would continue in the second half as the lead climbed above 30. St. John's shot 61 percent for the game, including an 11-for-22 mark from behind the arc. 

With the win, St. John's improves to 15-11 overall and 7-8 in BIG EAST play. Butler falls to 13-14 (6-10).

Freshman Jayden Taylor led the Bulldogs with 19 points, just two shy of his career-high. He went 4-of-6 from three-point range and 6-for-14 overall.

Friday's game was originally scheduled for Dec. 23, but was postponed due to COVID issues within the Red Storm program several hours prior to tip.

Bryce Nze returned to action after missing Tuesday's win at DePaul with a knee injury sustained in Saturday's win over Marquette. Bo Hodges missed his second consecutive game for the Bulldogs with a muscle strain. Hodges had his Butler-high in the first meeting between the two teams with 22 points Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. St. John's won that contest, 75-72.

The Bulldogs have a quick turnaround, returning to Hinkle Fieldhouse to host No. 8 Providence Sunday at 1 p.m.