New York Daily News

An Ell of a day

Ellison leads SJU past DePaul

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MALIK Ellison hit 5 of 6 3-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points to help St. John’s end a four-game slide with a 78-68 victory over DePaul on Monday at Carnesecca Arena.

After Billy Garrett Jr. missed a long 3-pointer for DePaul with the shot clock winding down, Marcus LoVett grabbed the long rebound and made a contested layup in transition for a 67-56 lead. It was LoVett’s only made field goal of the game. Garrett hit two free throws on the other end but Ellison answered with a 3-pointer to make it 70-58.

Shamorie Ponds and Bashir Ahmed each scored 14 points for St. John’s (9-11, 3-4 Big East). Ponds sank four of St. John’s 12 3-pointers as the Red Storm made 54.5% from long distance. Tariq Owens notched 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

Garrett scored 16 points for DePaul (8-11, 1-5) but he had six of the Blue Demons’ 16 turnovers. It was St. John’s final game on campus this season. VILLANOVA 76, SETON HALL 46: Kris Jenkins scored 16 points and Jalen Brunson added 13 to lead No. 1 Villanova over visiting Seton Hall.

The Wildcats (18-1, 6-1 Big East) looked every bit like a team that could win back-to-back national championsh­ips in their first game at No. 1 in The AP Top 25 poll following a one-week hiatus.

Villanova fell from the top spot to third in the poll following a Jan. 4 loss at Butler. But wins over Marquette and Xavier vaulted the Wildcats over the Kansas Jayhawks and back into the top spot.

Led by four 3s from Jenkins, the Wildcats set a school record 47 straight wins at the Pavilion. Under coach Jay Wright, Villanova has been nearly unbeatable at home for most of the last 10 years.

Seton Hall (12-6, 2-4) was just the latest to go down in front of the 177th straight sellout crowd. Villanova’s rare blemish on its national championsh­ip season was a loss to the Pirates in the Big East Tournament title game. CREIGHTON 72, XAVIER 67: Point guard Maurice Watson Jr. went to the bench with an injured left knee in the first half, and No. 7 Creighton wasted an 11-point lead before rallying to extend the best start in school history. The Bluejays (18-1, 5-1 Big East) scored the final six points after Xavier (13-5, 3-3) pulled ahead, 67-66. The Bluejays have won five straight since an 80-70 home loss to No. 1 Villanova on Dec. 31. BUTLER 88, MARQUETTE 80: Kelan Martin scored 22 points and No. 13 Butler rallied from an 18-point deficit early in the second half. The host Bulldogs (16-3, 5-2 Big East) put up 63 points after the break without a single turnover. Markus Howard had 26 points for Marquette (12-6, 3-3). KANSAS 76, IOWA STATE 72: Frank Mason III had 16 points, Landen Lucas scored 14 and Kansas held off Iowa State for its 17th straight win. Svi Mykhailiuk added 13 for the Jayhawks (17-1, 6-0 Big 12), who snapped a two-game skid in Ames and opened 6-0 in the Big 12 for the 10th time. NORTH CAROLINA 85, SYRACUSE 68: Roy Williams earned his 800th career victory when Isaiah Hicks scored 20 points to lead No. 9 North Carolina at home. Kennedy Meeks added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Tar Heels (17-3, 5-1 ACC). Williams is the ninth Division I coach to reach 800 wins. MONMOUTH 76, CANISIUS 72: Chris Brady scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as visiting Monmouth (14-5) won its fourth straight.

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