ASU led by 18 late in the first half, but Saint John's closed it to 12 at the half and cut it to one late. Kodi Justice hit a three-pointer to make it 74-70 with 2:28 left, ASU forced a miss and Romello White got a great pass from Remy Martin to give ASU the six-point lead. ASU got three straight stops and made all six free throws to close out the Red Storm in the first game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic tripleheader.
ASU used a 26-7 run over 7:48 to lead 44-26 with 3:07 left in the first half, as it posted its first eight-game win streak since the 2008-09 season with James Harden leading the way. In the 26-7 run ASU forced Saint John's into seven straight misses at one point, as ASU had a 13-0 run during that stretch.
Shannon Evans added 18 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Sun Devils (8-0), off to their best start since the 1974-75 team started 9-0.
"Kodi's three was huge, a momentum shot," ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. "He's got a knack for making big shots and he wants the moment."
"They came out really hot," St. John's coach Chris Mullin said. "We maintained our composure and got back in the game."
ASU made nine 3-pointers, with redshirt freshman Vitaliy Shibel, Evans and Justice hitting three each. Shibel, who fouled out, was 3-of-17 from long range coming in. ASU made 14-of-23 from the field to start the game.
"I do think we're an entertaining team to watch," Hurley said. "We play on instinct and don't walk the ball up the court. It's a fun team to coach because they're playmakers."
St. John's led 19-18 -- its only lead of the game -- 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.
The Sun Devils are preparing for Pac-12 play with a rugged schedule despite being picked to finish sixth in the league. Next up is No. 2 Kansas, which will be their fourth top-10 non-conference opponent under Hurley after ASU took on one in the previous 17 seasons. ASU beat then-No. 15 Xavier and will host Vanderbilt, which made last season's NCAA Tournament, on Dec. 20.
THE LAST TIME: The schools were meeting for just the second time. The first was on Nov. 27, 2010, in the Great Alaska Shootout title game, where St. John's rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat ASU 67-58. The Red Storm were coached by Steve Lavin, who announced Friday's game for the Pac-12 Network.
ASSOCIATED PRESS NOTES: During St. John's winning streak, the Red Storm held opponents to 52.7 points and forced 22.3 turnovers. The Sun Devils committed 14 turnovers, but fell short of their 92.7-point scoring average, which ranked fifth nationally.
ASU VS. ST. JOHN'S: ASU misses the Los Angeles Pac-12 trip this year, so Coach Hurley and staff scheduled a game in Los Angeles at the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic ASU played St. John's for just the second time, as the only other meeting was on Nov. 27, 2010, in the Great Alaska Shootout when Steve Lavin and Saint John's came back from a 30-20 halftime deficit to win 67-58. ASU has now played five games against BIG EAST schools in Bobby Hurley's Sun Devil career, as in addition to beating St. John's and No. 15 Xavier this year he also won at Creighton on Dec. 2, 2015. Marquette (78-73 in Brooklyn on Nov. 24, 2015) and No. 9 Creighton (in Tempe on Dec. 20, 2016) are the losses.
FOUGHT THROUGH DROUGHTS: ASU went 5:53 in the second half without a field goal (0-of-6) and went 5:34 without a field goal in the first half and start of second half (0-of-7).