Raging Storm

Red-hot Johnnies win fourth in row

GETTY CHICAGO — Shamorie Ponds continued his remarkable run with 26 points and a careerhigh 10 assists and St. John’s continued its turnaround with a 77-76 win over DePaul on Wednesday night.

Marvin Clark II added a career-high 24 points for St.John’s (14-13, 3-11 Big East), which has won four straight — beating Villanova and Duke — since ending an 11-game losing streak.

Ponds, who averaged 34.3 points while shooting 54.5 percent in the previous wins, was 10 of 18. He had a 3-pointer and a 3-point play before feeding Tariq Owens to complete a 10-2 run for a 75-71 lead 47 seconds left.

Marin Maric had a tip-in with 19.7 seconds remaining for the Blue Demons but Clark and Owens both made 1 of 2 free throws to offset a 3 at the buzzer.

Eli Cain had 19 points and 11 assists for DePaul (10-15, 3-10), which won 91-74 at St. John’s.

HALL GETS X-ED

Trevon Bluiett followed his worst shooting performance of the season with a 37-point effort, and No. 4 Xavier held on for a 102-90 victory over Seton Hall on Wednesday night, securing the Musketeers’ hold on first place in the Big East.

Xavier (24-3, 12-2) has won nine in a row heading into its showdown with No. 3 Villanova on Saturday at the Cintas Center. Xavier leads the league by a game and a half after the Wildcats’ 76-71 loss at Providence earlier Wednesday.

Bluiett missed all of his four shots from beyond the arc and finished with a season-low six points during a win at Creighton on Saturday. He had his touch from the first shot on Wednesday — a nothing-but-net 3 — and finished 8 of 11 beyond the arc, one shy of the school record for 3-pointers made in a game. His 37 points were three shy of his career high.

Naji Marshall added a career-high 20 points. Xavier went 14 of 29 from beyond the arc.

Seton Hall (17-9, 6-7) has dropped a season-high four in a row. Myles Powell scored a career-high 30 points, including 24 in the second half as the Pirates cut Xavier’s 25-point lead to 87-81 with 3:39 left before Xavier finished it out at the free throw line.