Providence beats St. John’s, 75-54

PROVIDENCE—Randall Hanke scored a season-high 17 points and Providence shook off a slow start to beat St. John’s 75-54 on Wednesday.

Sharaud Curry added a season-high 16 points and eight assists for the Friars (9-4, 1-0 Big East), who allowed their stingiest point total this season.

Sean Evans collected his third double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for St. John’s (9-4, 0-1 Big East), which has turned in back-to-back season lows in scoring.

The Red Storm scored the game’s first 11 points, but Providence quickly came to life. The Friars took an 18-17 lead on Curry’s layup with 6:49 left in the first half and never looked back.

Providence tips off next against DePaul on Saturday. St. John’s faces No. 7 Notre Dame on Saturday.