St. John's strong second half turned a six-point halftime lead into an 82-59 win over Butler Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
 
Butler is now 16-13 (7-11 BIG EAST) on the season, while St. John's improves to 17-12 (9-9).
 
HOW IT TRANSPIRED:

• A 12-2 run by St. John's built the Red Storm lead to 25-13 with 8:35 remaining in the first half, matching the largest advantage of the opening 20 minutes.
• A Posh Alexander jumper as the first half horn sounded cut the St. John's lead to 39-33.
• Trailing by only eight (51-43) with 15:19 remaining, Butler surrendered the next eight points as St. John's built a 16-point lead. The lead never got back to single digits.
• St. John's out-scored Butler, 43-26, in the second half.

OF NOTE:

• Butler had a total of 15 turnovers, with 12 of those coming in the second half.
• Glenn Taylor, Jr. went 5-for-7 from three-point range, posting a game-high 17 points for St. John's.
• RJ Luis Jr. (15) and Chris Ledlum (10) also scored in double figures for the Red Storm.
• St. John's turned those 15 Butler turnovers into 23 points.
• Posh Alexander led Butler with 15 points and seven rebounds.
• Pierre Brooks II scored 13 points.
• Butler shot only 39 percent from the field.
• Joel Soriano's 13 rebounds helped St. John's take a 40-33 rebounding advantage; the Red Storm's 13 offensive rebounds became 17 second-chance points.
• St. John's committed only six turnovers and shot 44 percent from the field.

 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs travel to Chicago for a Saturday tip against DePaul. The Noon (Eastern, 11 a.m. Central) game will air on FS1. Butler will then return to Hinkle Fieldhouse Wednesday, March 6 for Senior Night against Xavier. That is the final contest in advance of the Bulldogs heading to New York City for the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament.