VILLANOVA, Pa.  – With Phil Booth and Eric Paschall leading the way, Villanova used another rally at the Finneran Pavilion to knock off No. 24/23 St. John's 76-71 Tuesday night.
 
The Wildcats trailed 39-34 at halftime and 67-62 with 4:07 to play. A 14-4 surge in the homestretch carried the Cats to the win (12-4 overall, 3-0 BIG EAST). It followed another second half rally last week against DePaul and another in December to claim a Philadelphia Big Five win over Temple in their campus home.
 
"What a great college basketball game," stated head coach Jay Wright. "That is a really good basketball team we played. I'm really proud of our guys sticking together. We still have a lot of work to do but this was a great experience for us in this kind of environment."
 
Booth scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half. He also contributed seven rebounds and four assists over 39:05. Paschall logged 39:41 and produced 25 points and eight rebounds, helping the Wildcats withstand a sizzling shooting start on this night by the Red Storm.
 
"They're in great shape," stated Wright of his senior leaders. "I told them that if time in the game where they were needed (a rest), let me know and I'll burn a time out. But they were going strong. They didn't look tired to me and that's a credit to their conditioning."
 
St. John's connected on 5-of-6 field goal attempts in the first 3:10 of action, including four 3-pointers to grab a 14-2 lead over the Wildcats. Villanova responded with a quick five points to narrow the deficit to 14-7 at the first official timeout.
 
Two more triples – both by guard Shamorie Ponds – helped the Red Storm push the margin to 20-7 before Phil Booth dropped one in for the Wildcats. After 9:20, St. John's led 22-13 thanks mostly to its efforts from distance, where it was 6-of-11. The 'Cats meanwhile converted just 5-of-16 from the field in that span.
 
But Villanova got a boost when it shifted to a guard heavy lineup featuring Jahvon Quinerly and Jermaine Samuels. A Samuels tip in on a fast break pulled Villanova back to within 24-22 with 7:43 to play before halftime.
 
The Red Storm answered with an 8-0 run to push its advantage to 34-24.Villanova then outscored St. John's 10-5 to carve the deficit to 39-34 after 20 minutes of action.
 
Carrying the scoring load in the first half was a familiar tandem. Paschall delivered 17 points while Booth added eight to help VU remain close despite a 9-of- 21 effort from beyond the 3-point arc by St. John's in the first period.
 
After relying on the long ball in the first half, the Red Storm went to work inside the arc when the second half began. St. John's converted 5-of-6 and jumped out to a 50-39 lead. Villanova, though, responded with a 12-0 surge capped by a Booth scoop shot for a basket to give the 'Cats their first lead of the second half at 51-50 with just over 14 minutes to play in the contest.
 
Then it was St. John's turn. A corner 3-ball from Marvin Clark III pushed the Red Storm out to a 55-51 lead with 11:43 on the second half clock. Ponds followed with a 3-pointer on which he was fouled. The free throw made it a 9-0 burst and a 59-51 lead.
 
Booth led an 8-0 surge to draw the Wildcats back to 59-58 before an LJ Figueroa 3-pointer pushed the Red Storm advantage to 62-58.Villanova pulled even at 62 on a pair of Paschall free throws. St. John's reeled off five straight points to go up 67-62 before another Booth triple cut the gap to 67-65. He followed that with another deep ball to give VU a 68-67 lead at the 2:06 mark.
 
Villanova never trailed again as it kept getting defensive stops in the final minutes.
 
A road trip is up next for the Wildcats, who travel to Omaha, Neb., this weekend to prepare for a Sunday matinee against the Creighton Bluejays. The BIG EAST battle will get underway just after noon eastern time and will air nationally on Fox (Fox 29 in Philadelphia). 610 ESPN Radio and the TuneIn app will carry the Villanova broadcast with Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby.