Box Score JAMAICA, N.Y. – A suffocating defensive effort lifted St. John's to a 70-59 victory over No. 3 Villanova Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena. The Wildcats scored 10 points in the first 4:39 of the contest but found the going difficult the rest of the way as the Red Storm forced Nova into a season-high 17 turnovers.
 
The win was the fifth in a row for St. John's (12-7 overall, 6-6 BIG EAST) and snapped a nine-game Villanova (11-2 overall, 6-1 BIG EAST) win streak.
 
Villanova connected on just .323 of its field goal attempts on the night, converting 20 field goals in 62 attempts.
 
"It was one of those tough nights on the road in the Big East," said head coach Jay Wright. "We were outplayed. We knew coming in how well they were playing. They have a great plan, great defensive concepts and really share the ball offensively. They just played better than us at both ends of the floor.
 
"I think our poor shooting and turnovers are a credit to their defense and physicality. I give them all the credit."
 
Sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 14 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for Villanova while junior Caleb Daniels led the 'Cats with 16 points. Posh Alexander led the Red Storm with 16 points and six assists.
 
"They are just a really good defensive team," said Robinson-Earl. "They kind of sped us up."
 
Villanova scored the game's first seven points and held a 10-3 lead after less than five minutes of action.  The Red Storm, though, began to find the range from beyond the 3-point arc and closed the deficit to 16-13 midway through the first half.
 
While the Wildcats' struggled to reignite their offense, going 1-of-9 from the field at one point in the half, St. John's settled into a groove. It took the lead as part of a 10-0 run, moving ahead 23-19 with 7:11 to play in the period. The Red Storm converted 5-of-9 from outside the arc in the game's first 13 minutes.
 
A quick 6-0 run courtesy of 3-pointers from Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels pushed the Wildcats back into the lead at 25-24 but the Red Storm got a 3-pointer of its own to retake the lead at 28-25. St. John's took a 30-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The Red Storm held the edge in large part due to a defense that limited Villanova to 17 points over the final 15:21 of the period. The Wildcats connected on 10-of-35 field goals in the first 20 minutes (.286), including 5-of-18 from deep (.278). In addition, there were seven turnovers forced by the Red Storm.
 
"They just did a great job of taking us out of our offensive sets," said Wright. "We had a plan to respond to that. We didn't execute it because of their pressure. It's not like our guys didn't want to do it. Their physicality took us out of what we wanted to do."
 
Villanova trailed by only three because of its own solid defense. St. John's converted 12-of-32 (.375) in the period. But the Red Storm's work from long range – 6-of-12 – was a key separator.
 
The Wildcats missed on their first four attempts from the floor in the second half and that allowed St. John's to build a 35-27 advantage, its largest of the contest to that point, after 2:26 of the second half. The deficit grew to 11, 40-29 at the first official timeout of the second half.
 
"We weren't bad defensively in the second half but they were outstanding," noted Wright. "Our turnovers led to easy baskets for them."
 
The offensive struggles allowed the Red Storm to expand the margin to 51-36 midway through the period. At that point, the Wildcats were 2-of-10 from the field in the second half with seven turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the half.
 
Five straight points by Daniels got the Cats to within 51-41, but St. John's responded with five in a row of its own to build a 58-41 with under seven minutes to go. An 8-0 run by the Wildcats pulled them to within 58-49 but St. John's dropped in another 3-pointer, this one by Julian Champagnie to push the lead back to 61-49.
 
The Red Storm went on to secure the 70-59 victory, their third in the last six meetings with Villanova.
 
"They play really hard," said Robinson-Earl. "They're really quick, solid and physical. I don't think their record does them justice."
 
Villanova is slated to return to action Sunday against Georgetown at Finneran Pavilion.
 
"We bounce back from this by keeping a great attitude," said Daniels.