NEW YORK -- Federico Mussini scored 17 points and St. John's used some good shooting and superior rebounding to beat old Big East rival Syracuse 84-72 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
The matchup was the first between the teams since Jan. 19, 1977, that Jim Boeheim was not coaching the Orange, a span of 63 games. This was the third of his nine-game suspension from the NCAA.
Amar Alibegovic, Durand Johnson and freshman Kassoum Yakwe all had 15 points for the Red Storm (7-3), who won their third straight and picked up a victory in a rivalry that has been favoring Syracuse in recent years.