St. John's pulled away in the closing minutes, taking a 70-62 win over Butler Saturday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y.
 
RJ Luis Jr. led four St. John's players in double figures with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Pierre Brooks II paced the Bulldogs with 17 points.
 
With the win, St. John's improves to 12-3 (3-1 BIG EAST), while Butler falls to 7-8 overall (0-4 in conference play).
 
FLOW OF THE GAME:

• A 13-0 run midway through the first half, featuring scores from five different Bulldogs, gave Butler a 17-11 lead with 5:34 remaining; the run coincided with a six-minute scoring drought for St. John's and allowed Butler to gain some momentum after starting with 15 misses among their first 16 attempts from the field. St. John's was unable to run away early, starting the game 5-for-27 from the field.
• Butler carried a 29-25 lead into the half.
• Five straight points from Patrick McCaffery gave the Bulldogs their largest lead of the game at 36-29 with exactly 18 minutes remaining.
• St. John's responded with an immediate 16-2 run, retaking the lead and extending the advantage to 45-38.
• It was once again McCaffery with a spark for the Bulldogs, as his back-to-back three-pointers allowed Butler to retake the lead at 49-47.
• The game was tied 55-55 with 5:05 to play before St. John's closed the game by scoring 15 of the final 22 points. That included making nine free throws down the stretch.

 
POINTS OF EMPHASIS:

• St. John's forced Butler into a season-worst 21 turnovers. St. John's turned those into 19 points and it was a majority of their 27 fast-break points.
• The Bulldogs went only 9-for-20 (45 percent) from the free throw line, including 3-for-11 in the first half.
• Butler's defense held St. John's to 37-percent shooting, including only 1-for-21 from three-point range.
• St. John's made 17 of their 23 free throw attempts.
• McCaffery posted his first double-double of the season (and the second of his career) with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
• Brooks added eight rebounds as Butler held a slight 47-46 rebounding edge overall.
• Kolby King, who played at St. John's during his freshman season, made the first start of his Butler career Saturday. He had four points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals.
• Legendary St. John's coach Lou Carnesecca, who would have turned 100 Sunday but passed away late in 2024, was honored throughout the game.

 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs return to the East Coast Wednesday night for a tip at Providence. The 8:30 p.m. game will air on Peacock. Fans can listen to Butler Basketball Live featuring Mark Minner and Nick Gardner via the Varsity Network app and other platforms.
 
Butler's next home game is Saturday, Jan. 11 against Creighton. Tickets are still available for the noon tip, which is Butler's annual IMS Checker Out game.