COL BKB: Notre Dame 76, St. John's 61

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Ben Hansbrough pumped in 26 points Saturday for No. 15 Notre Dame, which cruised to a 76-61 victory over St. John's.

Tim Abromaitis added 12 points and nine rebounds and Scott Martin contributed 12 points and eight boards for the Fighting Irish (14-2, 3-1 Big East), who shot 51 percent from the field.

Notre Dame took an early 15-4 lead and ended the first half shooting 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, scoring the final nine points of the stanza to build a 44-25 advantage.

St. John's (10-4, 3-1) was led by Justin Brownlee, who posted 17 points and seven rebounds.