College basketball: No. 16 Arizona State holds off St. John’s at Basketball Hall of Fame Classic

Romello White scored 22 points and No. 16 Arizona State held off St. John’s 82-70 on Friday night in the opener of the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic tripleheader at Staples Center.

Shannon Evans II added 18 points for the Sun Devils (8-0), off to their best start since 1980-81.

St. John’s rallied from a 13-point deficit early in the second half to trail 71-70 on a layup by Shamorie Ponds after he stole the ball from White.

After Remy Martin missed a layup for the Sun Devils, Bryan Trimble Jr. threw the ball away near the Red Storm’s bench and they never got any closer.

Kodi Justice hit a 3-pointer for Arizona State, launching a game-ending 11-0 run. The Sun Devils made 23 of 27 free throws in the game, including their last eight in a row.

Ponds scored 19 points, Marvin Clark II added 18 points and Tariq Owens had 17 points for the Red Storm (8-2), who had their three-game winning streak ended.

ASU made nine 3-pointers, with Vitaliy Shibel, Evans and Justice hitting three each. Shibel, who fouled out, was 3 of 17 from long range coming in.

St. John’s led 19-18 when the Sun Devils closed the first half on a 28-15 run to lead 46-34. Justice scored 10 points, including two 3-pointers, and Evans added seven in the spurt.

SOUTHLAND

Friday’s results

MEN

at UC Riverside 67, Air Force 48: The Highlanders (3-6) used an 18-2 run from the first half into the second to break the game open. Dikymbe Martin made eight out of 10 shots (four of four on three-pointers) and scored 22 points for UCR.

WOMEN

at Oklahoma State 87, No. 7 UCLA 72: The Cowgirls (7-2) took a 20-4 lead and won their 54th straight nonconference home game, with Loryn Goodwin getting 27 points. Jordin Canada scored 28 points for the Bruins (7-2).

Saturday’s schedule

MEN

UC Santa Barbara at Montana State 1 p.m.

UC Irvine at Texas Rio Grande Valley 6 p.m.

Utah Valley at Cal State Fullerton 6 p.m.

Long Beach State at Pepperdine 7 p.m.

Loyola Marymount at Cal State Northridge 7 p.m.