NEW YORK, N.Y. – A poised effort against the intense pressure of St. John's helped propel No. 8/10 Villanova to a convincing 79-59 victory over the Red Storm Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
 
On an evening when junior Jermaine Samuels was sidelined by a sprained left foot suffered in Saturday's victory at Providence, the Wildcats five starters tallied 75 of the team's 79 points.
 
Saddiq Bey led the way with 23 points while Collin Gillespie added 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. In his last two outings, Villanova's junior point guard from Huntingdon Valley, Pa., as 21 rebounds. Freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 13 points and 14 rebounds.
 
The Wildcats gained control of the game in the latter stages of the first half and pulled away in the second half to a lead that grew to 24 points before St. John's narrowed that in the final minutes.
 
"That was a good performance by us," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "We played a good, tough defensive team that's going to win a lot of games in this league. I was really proud of how we defended and handled their pressure. They can get after you and have great quickness. It's organized pressure that's tough to handle."
 
Villanova committed just 13 turnovers against the Red Storm full court pressure.
 
"It's just being physical and solid with the ball," noted Gillespie. "We knew they were going to get into us."
 
Added Bey: "We just tried to be solid and play with poise so you don't get sped us."
 
Villanova also got quality contributions from sophomores Brandon Slater and freshman Bryan Antoine off the bench with Samuels unavailable. Justin Moore and Cole Swider also played important roles.
 
"We were really concerned about not having Jermaine in there," said Wright. "I think Cole Swider and Brandon Slater did a great job getting a lot more minutes. They defended well, rebounded well. Justin Moore gets into a starting role and does a great job.
 
"You always look forward to those opportunities as a coach. You've got guys you know can play. They just have guys ahead of them. We obviously feel bad for Jermaine but we feel good about the guys stepping up."
 
The Red Storm (13-9 overall, 2-7 BIG EAST) capitalized on some early struggles at the offensive end by the Wildcats to grab a 5-0 lead. The Wildcats (17-3 overall, 7-1 BIG EAST) misfired on their first six field goal attempts over the game's opening 2:46. A free throw by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl gave Nova its first point of the night. An LJ Figueroa 3-pointer extended the St. John's lead to 8-1.
 
"It's hard to simulate their speed in practice," said Wright. "It took us time to adjust to that."
 
With Bey and Robinson-Earl providing the offense, Nova reeled off a 14-7 spurt to pull even with St. John's at 15 at the 11:14 mark of the first half. After St. John's scored four straight after a time out, Villanova came right back with an 8-0 run capped by a short Gillespie jumper in the lane to grab a 23-19 lead.
 
The Wildcats outscored the Red Storm 16-7 over the final 7:14 of the half to take a 39-26 lead into the locker room at halftime. Bey's 13 points led the Wildcats while Moore added nine points and Swider six points.
 
St. John's knocked the lead back to single digits at the start of the second half but Gillespie heated up while Villanova's defense did a good job clamping down on the Red Storm. By the time Moore drained a corner 3-pointer off a nice feed from Robinson-Earl, the Wildcats had moved out to a 68-44 lead with just under seven minutes to play in the contest.
 
The Red Storm used a 7-0 burst to shave the deficit to 68-51 before a dunk by Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree made it 70-51 as the clock ticked below the five-minute mark. Nova cruised to the 79-59 victory, their largest winning margin in a league game this season. The 'Cats have won a season high seven in a row and 13 of 14.
 
Villanova returns to the Wells Fargo Center Saturday to host Creighton. That BIG EAST matchup will tip off just after noon and air live on FS1 and 610 ESPN Radio.
 
The 2019-20 season – Villanova's 100^th college basketball campaign – is presented by Hartford Funds and Coca-Cola.