St. John’s 70, Niagara 57: D’Angelo Harrison posted 16 points and nine rebounds as the Red Storm pulled away from the visiting Purple Eagles midway through the second half.

Harrison scored his 1,700th career point in St. John’s tune-up for Saturday’s road game against former Big East foe Syracuse. Jamal Branch contributed 12 points to go along with six assists for the Red Storm (5-1).

Emile Blackman scored 21 points on 9-for-21 shooting while Ramone Snowden added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Niagara (1-4), which lost its third in a row. Leading scorer Rayvon Harris finished with four points on 1-for-4 shooting for the Purple Eagles, who connected on three field goals in the final 8:31.

St. John’s wasn’t able to gain separation from Niagara after halftime as the Purple Eagles opened shooting a torrid 5-for-7 from long range to pull within a point at 46-45 following a 3-pointer by Karonn Davis. But the Red Storm began converting in transition off steals and blocked shots during a 19-5 spurt punctuated by a 3-pointer by Rysheed Jordan.

St. John’s started the game shooting 1-for-6 but used a 13-3 run to build a 17-7 lead capped by a jump shot by Sir’Dominic Pointer. Niagara switched to a 2-3 zone to slow down the Red Storm and was able to climb back into the game at 17-12, but St. John’s tacked on a 10-2 run to pull ahead 27-14.

GAME NOTEBOOK: St. John’s coach Steve Lavin shook up the lineup by starting F Myles Stewart and Branch in place of Pointer and Jordan. … Blackman is the nephew of former St. John’s and NBA point guard Mark Jackson. … Harrison (1,706 points) ranks ninth on the Red Storm’s career scoring list and trails Glen Williams for eighth by 21 points.