St. John's erased an early nine-point deficit by closing the first half on a 19-2 run and withstood a late charge from St. Francis Brooklyn to register a 63-56 victory in the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival. It was the program's 1,800th victory as St. John's became only the ninth team in history to reach the milestone, while it also marked the first win at "The World's Most Famous Arena" for Chris Mullin, who was making his Garden coaching debut Sunday.