St. John’s upsets No. 4 Duke at Garden

NEW YORK — Shamorie Ponds scored 33 points as St. John’s stunned No. 4 Duke 81-77 Saturday at Madison Square Garden, snapping an 11-game losing streak and handing the suddenly suspect Blue Devils their second loss in eight days.

Bashir Ahmed added 19 points and Tariq Owens had 17 for the Red Storm (11-13), who overcame an early 10-point deficit and fought off Duke’s heralded freshmen down the stretch in their biggest win under third-year coach Chris Mullin.

Gary Trent Jr. had 22 points for the Blue Devils (19-4), who perhaps got caught looking ahead to Thursday night and their first matchup of the season with bitter rival North Carolina. Freshman sensation Marvin Bagley III scored 19 but sat out a significant chunk of the second half with four fouls.

Outhustled all afternoon, Duke was coming off an easy win over Notre Dame that followed a disappointing 65-63 loss to No. 2 Virginia at home last weekend.

St. John’s was playing the second of three straight games — in a span of nine days — against opponents ranked in the top six. Next up is a visit to No. 1 Villanova on Wednesday night.

Winless in 11 Big East games this season, the Red Storm improved to 11-2 in nonconference play. They have played the fifth-toughest schedule in the country this season according to the NCAA, the school said.