Dwight Hardy scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting as No. 25 St. John’s crushed visiting DePaul 76-51 on Wednesday.

D.J. Kennedy added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Storm (18-9, 10-5 Big East), who won their fifth straight to move into a tie for third in the Big East. The top four finishers receive a double bye in the conference tournament through to the quarterfinals.

Cleveland Melvin scored 16 points for DePaul (7-20, 1-14), which shot 32 percent. The Blue Demons still have a chance to pull out of last place in the Big East if they can find a way to win a home game over South Florida on Saturday.

St. John’s took control early, shooting 55 percent in the first half to take a 37-22 lead into the break. The Blue Demons missed their first seven field goal attempts after halftime as the Red Storm pushed the lead to 46-24.

St. John's stretched the lead to 30 points, 61-31, on Hardy’s jumper with 10:42 left.