Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Villanova 92, St. John's 79
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 4, 2017
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Officials: # James Breeding, # Tim Clougherty, # Matt Potter
Attendance: 18562

PHILADELPHIA -- In the rugged Big East, every game isn't going to be picturesque.

Just ask fourth-ranked Villanova, which committed a season-high 23 turnovers yet had more than enough to overcome St. John's in an 92-79 victory on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Josh Hart had 26 points and nine rebounds and Donte DiVincenzo added a career-high 20 points for Villanova.

"We're not a complete team yet," Wildcats coach Jay Wright said. "We've still got a lot of work to do."

Kris Jenkins scored 15 points, Mikal Bridges contributed 14 and Jalen Brunson had 12 for the Wildcats (22-2, 9-2 Big East), who won their third in a row.

"We've just got to put in 40 full minutes," Hart said. "They played harder than us."

Villanova swept all four home games at the Wells Fargo Center, which houses the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's Flyers. It previously defeated Marquette, Providence and Virginia.

The Wildcats still have home games against Georgetown, Butler and Creighton at The Pavilion on campus, where they've won a program-best 47 straight.

"We love playing here," Wright said of the Wells Fargo Center. "The atmosphere is amazing."

Marcus LoVett led St. John's (11-14, 5-7) with 23 points. Shamorie Ponds and Bashir Ahmed contributed 15 points apiece for the Red Storm, who couldn't capitalize on the momentum of Wednesday's 86-72 victory over Marquette. Federico Mussini added 11 points.

"We maintained our defensive effort pretty good," Red Storm coach Chris Mullin said. "We had a hard time putting the ball in the basket."

The Red Storm got within 51-42 early in the second half before Hart and Jenkins responded with consecutive 3-pointers to quickly extend to a 15-point lead.

Bridges' layup with 11:07 left pushed the Wildcats' lead back to 20 at 66-46.

The hot-shooting Wildcats were 15 of 27 from the field in the second half and 29 of 56 overall.

That was more than enough of a cushion to propel Villanova to another conference victory.

For St. John's, it was another conference loss for a young team.

"I look at it as another learning experience," Mullin said. "Our defense was not bad. We got pounded on the boards again."

Villanova jumped out to a 10-0 lead as St. John's missed its first 12 shots. The advantage could have been larger, but the Wildcats missed nine of their first 13 from the field.

Once DiVincenzo checked in, Villanova began to surge ahead. DiVincenzo, whom Wright recently referred to as "the Michael Jordan of Delaware," scored 10 consecutive points to give the Wildcats a 24-5 lead.

DiVincenzo's fifth straight made field goal came on a conventional three-point play with 6:50 left in the first half for a 32-9 advantage.

"There was a lot of attention on Josh and Kris," said DiVincenzo, who was 7 of 11 from the field. "They just found me for some easy baskets early. I tried to get out and start running."

Villanova once led by 26 and rolled to a 46-28 advantage at halftime.

DiVincenzo paced the Wildcats with 15 points in the first half.

St. John's made just 11 of 34 shots from the field in the first 20 minutes.

NOTES: Villanova G Phil Booth missed his 21st consecutive game with tendinitis in his left knee. It's unclear if Booth will be out for the rest of the season. ... St. John's still hasn't defeated a top-five team on the road since 2000 when it ousted No. 2 Duke 83-82. ... Villanova defeated St. John's for the 14th straight time in this series. ... Villanova improved to 50-34 all time at Wells Fargo Center dating to the 1996-97 season when the arena opened. ... Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson attended the game.
Top Game Performances
 
St. John's   Villanova
Marcus LoVett 23 Scoring Josh Hart 26
Marcus LoVett 6 Assists Josh Hart 5
Bashir Ahmed 7 Rebounds Josh Hart 9
Shamorie Ponds 5 Free Throws Made Josh Hart 8
Marcus LoVett 4 Steals Mikal Bridges 4
Malik Ellison 1 Blocks Eric Paschall 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
St. John's 79 43.3 10-26 11-15 17 22 3 11 16
Villanova 92 51.8 9-25 25-27 16 37 8 8 23