NEW YORK (AP) — RJ Luis Jr. had 23 points and 14 rebounds to help No. 9 St. John’s strengthen its grip on first place in the Big East with a 79-73 victory over No. 24 Creighton on Sunday.

The Red Storm (22-4, 13-2) lead the Bluejays (18-8, 11-4) by two games. A Creighton win would have given it the head-to-head tiebreaker over St. John’s, which is seeking its first regular-season title since 1986.

Luis made 6 of 17 shots in his eighth double-double this season. He sank six free throws in the final two minutes and made 10 of 13 overall to help St. John’s secure its 10th win in 11 games.

Kadary Richmond had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Storm. Zuby Ejiofor added 18 points and nine boards.

Steven Ashworth scored 23 points for Creighton, which dropped its second straight after winning nine in a row. Jamiya Neal added 19. Ryan Kalkbrenner was held to 12 points and appeared to have limited mobility in his right foot after getting helped to the locker room with 9:45 left.

Kalkbrenner was injured jostling for a rebound under the rim with Ejiofor and Luis. He returned with 3:47 remaining.

Takeaways

Creighton: The Bluejays went 8 of 30 (26.7%) from 3-point range. In its loss to UConn, Creighton shot 29.2% (7 of 24) from 3.

St. John’s: Deivon Smith played 26 minutes and shot 4 of 9 after missing last week’s loss at Villanova with a neck injury. Smith was 8 for 34 in his previous four games after hurting his shoulder on Jan. 11.

Key moment

After missing 11 straight shots, Creighton got within 61-59 on a tip-in by Neal with 6:37 left. But St. John's responded with a 3 by Aaron Scott and a jumper by Luis.

Key stat

The Red Storm shot 58.6% (17 of 29) from the foul line.

Up next

Creighton hosts Georgetown next Sunday. St. John’s visits DePaul on Wednesday.

Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner hurts foot but avoids serious injury in loss to St. John's

NEW YORK (AP) — Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner avoided a serious injury to his right foot on Sunday, but coach Greg McDermott said the 24th-ranked Bluejays' leading scorer should expect some lingering soreness.

With 9:45 remaining in the second half of Creighton’s 79-73 loss to No. 9 St. John's, Kalkbrenner jostled with Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis Jr. for position to get a defensive rebound after a missed 3-point try. He appeared to collide with Luis, fell to the floor and was holding the top of his right foot.

After staying down for a few minutes, Kalkbrenner was helped to the locker room for further evaluation. He returned with 3:47 left and Creighton trailing 68-62.

“He tweaked it pretty good but obviously he came back,” McDermott said. “They taped it up and I think he’s going to be sore for a few days.”

Kalkbrenner attempted two shots after returning and finished with 12 points, his second-lowest total in a conference game.

Creighton trails St. John’s by two games for the Big East lead and the injury came at a fortunate time in the schedule. The Bluejays don't play again until next Sunday against Georgetown.

The Big East Preseason Player of the Year, Kalkbrenner entered Sunday as the conference’s third-leading scorer at 18.7 points per game behind Marquette’s Kam Jones and Villanova’s Eric Dixon.