NEW YORK -- Shamorie Ponds scored 21 points and Marcus Lovett scored 15 as St. John's muscled past CCSU 80-55 on Tuesday night.

Ponds scored 10 points at the foul line, out of 11 attempts, and had nine rebounds and three steals for the Red Storm (2-0). Lovett scored all 15 points, including three 3-pointers, before halftime when St. John's shot 50-percent from the field (16-32) and built a 43-27 lead at the break.

St. John's scored 31 points off 21 CCSU turnovers and outrebounded the Blue Devils 38-29. St. John's had 26 defensive boards. Justin Simon double-doubled with 11 rebounds, seven defensive, and 12 points.

Deion Bute paced the Blue Devils (0-2) with 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Mustafa Jones added 13 points, but CCSU was 20 of 48 from the floor (42 percent) and was 9 of 14 at the foul line.

CCSU had taken an 11-9 lead early but St. John's went on a 16-6 tear to lead 27-17 and kept going.