National Basketball Association

No. 17 St. John's beats Long Beach State 66-49

Published Dec. 22, 2014 9:47 p.m. ET

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NEW YORK (AP) Chris Obekpa scored 16 points, had eight rebounds and seven blocked shots to lead No. 17 St. John's to a 66-49 win over Long Beach State Monday night.

With the win, St. John's improved to 10-1 on the season. The last time the Red Storm began a season 10-1 was the 1990-91. That team finished the season with a 23-9 record before losing to then-No. 2 Duke in the Midwest Regional Final.

Sir'Dominic Pointer had 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks. Phil Greene IV chipped in 16 points. D'Angelo Harrison, the Big East's leading scorer with a 19.8 points per game average, finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Long Beach State lost its fourth straight and fell to 5-8. Mike Caffey was the only 49er in double figure scoring with 10 points.

The first ever meeting between the Big East and Big West programs was not one for either team's highlight reel. St. John's made 27 of 60 from the field, while Long Beach State shot just 32.3 percent from the field.

Both teams were especially cold from beyond the arc as the 49ers only made 7 of 22 from 3-point range, and the Red Storm missed 12 of 15.

After trailing for much of the first half, Long Beach State took a 28-27 lead on Tyler Lamb's 3-pointer at 3:27 of the second half. Following Lamb's basket, St. John's went on a 9-0 run to take a 36-28 lead.

The 49ers did cut St. John's lead to seven, 44-37, on Eric McKnight's dunk with 7:28 left. But the Red Storm went on a 22-11 run to closed out the game.

St. John's was shorthanded. Rysheed Jordan was at home with a stomach virus, according to a St. John's spokesman. The sophomore guard is expected to return to practice later this week and will be available for Sunday's game against Tulane at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

In 10 games this season, Jordan averaged 14.5 points and 4.1 assists in 30.3 minutes as the Red Storm's sixth man.

Without Jordan, starters Greene IV, D'Angelo Harrison and Jamal Branch received more playing time than usual. Branch, who finished with 37 minutes, entered the game averaging 22.1 minutes per game. Greene IV played 37 minutes, up from his season average of 31.2, while Harrison played 35 minutes. He came into the game averaging 35.1 minutes per.

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TIP INS:

ST. JOHN'S: The Red Storm entered the game having won 17 of 20 regular season games.

LONG BEACH STATE: Monday night marked the third straight game in which the 49ers played a team ranked in the Top 25.

UP NEXT:

ST. JOHN'S: Hosts Tulane on Dec. 28 in the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival at Barclays Center.

LONG BEACH STATE: Visits Syracuse on Dec. 28.