PISCATAWAY, N.J.– Facing its first road test of the year, the St. John’s men’s basketball team passed with flying colors. Tying a program record with 16 made 3-pointers, the Johnnies cruised to an 84-65 victory at Rutgers on Friday night.

With the win, St. John’s (3-0) remains undefeated on the young season and improves to 3-1 all-time in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.

As a team, the Red Storm shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the floor and sank 16 of its 32 attempts from beyond the three-point arc. Those 16 made triples matched the single-game program record, as the Johnnies also hit that number of Dec. 2, 2016, at Tulane and on March 18, 2014, against Robert Morris.

In a two-year career at Auburn that saw him eclipse the 1,000-point mark, Mustapha Heron scored 25 or more in a game three times. In three outings as a member of the Johnnies, he has now done it twice. The junior guard dominated the second half, netting 19 of his game-high 27 points in the latter stanza. He shot 10-of-14 from the floor on the night and sank four of his five attempts from deep, tying a career high in that category.

LJ Figueroa tallied his first St. John’s double-double, posting 23 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and no turnovers. The Lawrence, Mass., native shot 7-of-13 from the floor, including a 6-of-9 effort from three-point range.

Justin Simon narrowly missed a double-double of his own, recording 10 points, nine boards and three assists. One of four Johnnies in double figures, Marvin Clark II added 12 points to go along with three boards and three helpers.

Despite failing to reach double figures for the first time since Jan. 27, a span of 12 games, Shamorie Ponds finished with eight points and dished out six of the Johnnies’ 19 assists. The Brooklyn native also tallied two steals and pulled down four boards.

Rutgers quickly amped up its home crowd with a thunderous put-back dunk on the game’s opening possession, but St. John’s responded with 3-pointers on each of its next three trips down the floor, jumping out to a 9-2 lead with just over two minutes gone in the contest. The Scarlet Knights would never lead again.

After making six of its first 12 attempts from the floor, the Red Storm cooled off, missing six-straight and allowing Rutgers to pull within four, 15-11, near the midway mark of the half. Back-to-back buckets from Heron and Mikey Dixon quickly bumped the St. John’s lead back to eight just one minute later.

The Scarlet Knights continued to battle, pulling within one, 24-23, with just under five minute to play in the half. With his team’s lead hanging in the balance, Figueroa went off. He scored the game’s next six points on a pair of threes before assisting on a Ponds and-one to put the Johnnies back on top by eight, 33-25. After knocking down two free throws of his own, Figueroa assisted on the final bucket of the half, a corner triple from Simon, to give the Red Storm a 38-27 edge heading into the locker room. On the team’s 14-4 run to close the half, Figueroa scored eight points and dished out assists on the other six. In total, the Red Storm made six of its final nine shot attempts in the period. ­

After watching Figueroa take over the game at the conclusion of the first half, Heron decided it was his turn on the other side of the intermission. He scored the Red Storm’s first six points of the half before Heron unleashing a personal 10-3 run that included a pair of threes, a put-back dunk off his own miss and a textbook midrange jumper. Heron’s efforts put the Johnnies on top by 15, 55-40, with 12:38 to go in the game.

The Waterbury, Conn., product poured in 16 of the team’s first 17 points in the period and outscored Rutgers by himself, 16-13, over that stretch. He shot 5-of-7 from the floor, 3-of-3 from three and made three of his four free throw tries.

Over the next few minutes, the Red Storm began to put the game out of reach, jumping ahead by as many as 23 on a fastbreak 3-pointer from Clark with 8:33 to go.

Rutgers scored five-straight to pull as close as 15, 74-59, a few minutes later before the Johnnies answered with a 10-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 84-59, with 2:08 remaining. Marcellus Earlington capped the spurt with his first collegiate points on a baseline jumper.

The Red Storm will continue its local road trip on Monday, traveling to Brooklyn for the first game of the GotPrint.com Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper. The Johnnies will take on Cal in the tournament’s opening contest at Barclays Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.