Dwight Hardy scored 17 points and Sean Evans added 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench as fifth-seeded St. John’s got some help from the referees and barely scraped past 13th-seeded Rutgers, 65-63, in the second round of the Big East Championship at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

Justin Brownlee added 13 points for the Red Storm (21-10, 12-6 Big East), who will face fourth-seeded Syracuse in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

St. John’s had a 10-point lead at one point but went scoreless for nearly four minutes down the stretch. The Scarlet Knights took advantage when Mike Coburn drove for a layup and was fouled with 57 seconds left. The free throw gave Rutgers (15-17, 5-13) its first lead, 61-60, since early in the first half. But Hardy drove the lane and managed to draw a foul, hitting both shots from the line to put the Red Storm back up 62-61 with 37 seconds on the clock.

A steal and two more free throws from Evans pushed the lead to 64-61 and several calls and non-calls went against the Scarlet Knights in the last few seconds as St. John’s managed to escape.