Jan. 18, 2009
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Nova Notebook Postame: Seniors Help Point Way Back From Painful Loss
Villanova, Pa. - In its first on-campus conference game of the season, No. 23 Villanova (14-3, 2-2 Big East) never looked back from a big run to open the game and established its longest-ever winning streak in The Pavilion with a 76-57 win over St. John's (10-7, 1-4 Big East) on Sunday afternoon. The victory was the 24th straight on campus for the Wildcats dating back to the 2006-07 season.
Five different players scored during a game-opening 19-3 run by Villanova in the first six minutes. Junior guard Scottie Reynolds (Herndon, Va.) and senior wing Dwayne Anderson (Silver Spring, Md.) each had five points during the spurt and the Wildcats maintained a lead between 11-19 points for the remainder of the half.
Senior forward Dante Cunningham (Silver Spring, Md.) scored a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Anderson finished with a season-high 14 points to go along with three steals, four rebounds and two assists.
Cunningham made all five of his shots from the field in the first half, while Anderson and sophomore guard Corey Fisher (Bronx, N.Y.) each had seven points in the period. Villanova shot 57 percent (17-30) in the opening 20 minutes and led 44-27 at the intermission. Fisher finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Both teams played with a limited bench and the Red Storm made a game of it early in the second half, scoring the first nine points coming out of the break to pull to within 44-36 with 17:39 remaining. That stretch was part of a larger 15-4 run that spanned both halves that brought St. John's back from a 40-21 deficit with 3:10 to play before halftime.
Just moments after the Wildcats had their lead cut to single digits, however, Anderson responded with a three-pointer at the 17:09 mark of the second half to restore the margin to double digits for good. Villanova wound up shooting 59 percent (30-51) for the game and was even better in the second half, making 62 percent (13-of-21) of its shots from the field.
D.J. Kennedy had a game-high 18 points for the Red Storm and Quincy Roberts tallied 14 points. Justin Burrell added 13 points for St. John's, which hit 6-of-16 three-pointers but struggled to score inside against the Wildcats.
Villanova controlled the first half thanks largely to its ability to score inside and the Wildcats owned a 22-2 scoring margin in the paint by halftime. The trend continued in the second half and the host team outscored their visitors 40-12 in the paint for the game. Sophomore forward Antonio Pena (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 13 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for Villanova.
A week full of travel lies in store for the Wildcats, who will next play at No. 4 Connecticut on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the XL Center in Hartford. The team also heads to Tampa next weekend for a Saturday afternoon game against USF at the Sun Dome.
NOTES: Villanova scored 25 points off of 19 St. John's turnovers and registered an assist on 18 of its 30 made field goals ... Reynolds had a game-high five assists with just one turnover in 20 minutes plagued by foul trouble ... Junior guard Reggie Redding (Philadelphia, Pa.) contributed to the swarming Wildcat defense with four steals to go along with five points, five rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes.
