JAMAICA, NEW YORK - A balanced scoring attack with four starters in double figures led St. John's (6-3) to a 78-68 win over Niagara (4-6) Thursday at Alumni Hall. Niagara had balanced scoring of its own, led by junior Tremmell Darden (Las Vegas, NV/Las Vegas) with 19 points. Sophomore Juan Mendez (Montreal, Quebec/Florida Air Academy) added 18 points and junior James Reeves (Rochester, NY/Edison Tech) added 15 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the year.

"To their credit, they packed our zones, hit some shots and the basket just got bigger and bigger," said Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich. "After the first four or five possessions of the second half, I thought we played with better intensity. We just lacked the intensity for the 40 minutes and turned the ball over at some crucial times."

Niagara trailed 43-30 at the half after St. John's hit six three-pointers in 12 tries in the first half and forced eight Niagara turnovers. Niagara missed all six three-point attempts in the first 20 minutes.

In the second half, St. John's pushed the double-digit lead to 23 points when Tim Doyle scored an old-fashioned three-pointer for a 72-49 lead with 6:40 to play. Niagara went on a 17-3 run to cut the lead to nine, 75-66, with 1:17 to play. St. John's made three of four free throws down the stretch for the final 78-68 margin.

Reeves' game-high 11 rebounds led Niagara to a 36-28 edge on the boards. Mendez had eight. St. John's was led by Kyle Cuffe with 16 points. Marcus Hatten added 15, Anthony Glover, 13 and Willie Shaw, 11.

Niagara returns to action in its final non-conference game on Saturday afternoon in Martz Hall in Pottsville, Pa., against host Bucknell.