St. John's 66, LIU Brooklyn 53: Sir'Dominic Pointer scored a career-high 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked six shots as the host Red Storm improved to 3-0.

Rysheed Jordan scored 15 points and D'Angelo Harrison had 14 points and seven rebounds for St. John's (3-0). Chris Obekpa finished with 10 rebounds and eight blocks for the Red Storm, who next face Minnesota on Monday in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden.

Landon Atterberry had 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead LIU Brooklyn (0-1). Gerrell Martin finished with 14 points and six rebounds and Nura Zanna added 10 points for the Blackbirds, who shot 29.6 percent from the floor.

LIU Brooklyn, coming off a 9-20 season and starting three freshmen, led 17-12 midway through the first half after a 3-pointer by Martin. But St. John's, behind 10 first-half points including a trio of dunks by Pointer, went on a 24-9 run after that to lead 32-26 at halftime.

The Blackbirds opened the second half with a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by Martin to take a 33-32 lead. But Pointer ignited a 9-2 St. John run with a rebound dunk on the ensuing possession and the Red Storm never trailed again.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Red Storm finished with a 14-0 edge in blocked shots. ... St. John's, which entered the contest leading the Big East with a plus-14.5 rebounding margin, was outrebounded by the Blackbirds 44-39. ... LIU Brooklyn was the last Division I school to play its season opener.