NEW YORK -- Not often does a winning coach look as disappointed as Xavier coach Chris Mack did Wednesday night following his team's 74-66 win over St. John's in Carnesecca Arena.

Mack posted his 148th win, tying him with Skip Prosser for second place on Xavier's career coaching wins list. However, the 10th-ranked Musketeers clearly didn't bring their "A" game, allowing the Red Storm, despite a horrible shooting performance, to hang around.

Prosser, who died in 2007, gave Mack his first college coaching job when he was hired as director of basketball operations in 1999.

"Skip meant a lot to me," Prosser said. "I'm not half the coach that Skip is, and I mean that in all sincerity because just his way with people. Sometimes I get to into the basketball part. He was an unbelievable person, mentor, coach to his players, to the coaches that he had on his staff.

"He used to say it all the time, and I believe it, 'Coaches don't win games, players win the games."

Guard Myles Davis won it for Xavier (14-1, 2-1 Big East) by making all nine of his free throws en route to a team-high 19 points.

His biggest foul shots came with 1:34 left. After guard Frederico Mussini drained his fifth 3-pointer of the game to pull St. John's within 65-64, a rebounding foul call on the Red Storm forward Durand Johnson frustrated Mussini, who bounced the ball about 30 feet in the air, drawing a technical foul.

Davis converted two free throws, and Musketeers guard Trevon Bluiett made one of two to push Xavier's lead back to 68-64. Mussini, a freshman from Italy, blamed himself for the loss.

"I was upset with myself because I didn't box out in the way I want and then I didn't think about it and just throw the ball," Mussini said. "I'm upset with myself because without that, probably we would have won this game."

That is making it too simple.

St. John's (7-9, 0-3) lost its sixth straight because it shot 33.8 percent (23-for-68) from the field. And Xavier, which came into the game having made more free throws (281) than its opponents had attempted (256), used that formula. The Musketeers finished 22-for-29 at the line, while St. John's was 13-for-18.

"It's bad every time we lose, I ain't going to lie," said St. John's swingman Ron Mvouika, who also had 19 points. "But that one, it hurts a little more. You see the score, 74-66, but the game didn't go down like that."

Making the night even rougher for St. John's, the program announced at halftime that freshman center Yankuba Sima, who entered the game second in the nation in blocked shots with 47, sustained a left hand injury in the first half and he would not return. Sima had two blocked shots, five rebounds and no points in the first half.

Xavier should have taken advantage of the absence of the 6-foot-11 center. However, the Musketeers' post man, James Farr, was called for his third foul just 49 seconds into the second half and went to the bench.

The Musketeers already were without starting point guard Edmond Sumner, who is undergoing concussion protocol and did not make the trip. When asked when Sumner might return, Mack said, "Sooner rather than later."

"That doesn't necessarily give you any projected date," Mack added. "To be honest with you, I haven't asked our doctors. I haven't asked our trainers. When the time's right and he's released, he'll play again."

Xavier led 63-54 with 4:54 left and seemed to be in control. However, St. John's went on a 10-2 run to cut its deficit to 65-64, the closest it had been since trailing 2-0.

The Musketeers jumped out to a 16-4 lead by holding the Red Storm to 1-of-16 shooting, forcing two turnovers and blocking two shots. Xavier, which entered the game ranked third in the Big East in scoring defense, also had it going on the offensive end. The Musketeers knocked down their first five shots and seven of their first 10.

NOTES: Xavier senior G Remy Abell was named to the Big East honor roll after scoring a career-high 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting in an 88-69 win over Butler. He had six points but was one of seven Musketeers to score/ ... The only other time Xavier played St. John's at its Queens campus was 1981 in a first-round game of the Lapchick Memorial Tournament. St. John's won 75-55. Freshman Chris Mullin made his college debut for the Johnnies. Mullin, of course, is now the Red Storm's rookie head coach. ... Before Red Storm C Yankuba Sima left the game, he recorded two blocked shots in the first half, giving him 49 and moving him into the school's top 10 for a season.