Box Score VILLANOVA, Pa. – A 19-2 spurt late in the first half helped lift No. 14/14 Villanova to a 73-62 victory over St. John's Saturday at Finneran Pavilion. The Wildcats shook off a slow offensive start to catch fire over the final 10 minutes of the opening period to establish a double-digit margin they maintained for most of the final 20 minutes.
 
Collin Gillespie's 17 points paced Nova, which also got 15 points each from Caleb Daniels and Eric Dixon. St. John's was led in scoring by Montez Mathis (14 points).
 
The Wildcats (16-5 overall, 9-2 BIG EAST) held the Red Storm (11-8 overall, 3-5 BIG EAST) in check, limiting St. John's to .397 shooting on the day from the field, including 4-of-21 from deep (.190).
 
"They are a really difficult team to play," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "(Coach) Mike (Anderson) does a great job with creating that style – I don't know if they still call it 40 minutes of hell. They just don't stop. They're aggressive, they're physical. It's a hard game to play.
 
"I was proud of our guys. It was a good Big East win. After you survive a game like that all you can think about is you have to go back to their place in a couple of weeks."
 
After Collin Gillespie opened the scoring with a two-point jumper, St. John's reeled off seven consecutive points to grab a 7-2 lead. The Wildcats misfired on eight consecutive field goal attempts before a Jordan Longino 3-pointer broke the skid. Eric Dixon followed with a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 10 as the clock dipped below the 12-minute mark in the first half.
 
"I thought our defense converting was really important, especially in that stretch where we struggled offensively," said Wright. "We did a great job in that period of getting back and making great plays. One was Collin going up on a contested shot."
 
The Wildcats edged in front of the Red Storm 20-17 at the eight-minute mark when Justin Moore dropped in a 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired. Vilanova stretched that advantage to 27-19 thanks to a 7-0 burst capped by a nifty drive to the basket by Caleb Daniels.
 
A pair of forced turnovers led to 3-pointers by Moore and Daniels to extend the burst to 13-0 and the lead to 33-19 with 2:50 to play in the first period. One more 3-pointer – this one by Gillespie made it a 16-0 surge – before a basket and free throw by Julian Champagnie ended the outburst.
 
"Moving the ball and making extra passes was big for us in that part of the game," noted Wright. "It's easy to say that as a coach, but when you've got guys in you, smacking at the ball, It's hard to have your head up and see your teammates. We had a period there where we made extra passes and found open shots. The rest of the game we were not. The pressure was getting to us."
 
At halftime, Villanova held a 40-26 lead over the Red Storm. Part of that success was owed to a 9-of-12 effort from beyond the 3-point arc in the period, with five different players accounting for at least one.
 
Daniels led the Wildcats with 10 first half points while Gillespie added eight.
 
The Red Storm's work on the offensive boards – it grabbed its 12^th of the day four minutes into the second half – helped it narrow the Villanova lead to 45-34 with 13:34 to play in the second half. But timely 3-pointers from Gillespie and free throws from Dixon helped the Wildcats stretch their lead to 64-44.
 
One big plus for Villanova was how careful it was with the basketball. It committed 11 on the day against St. John's and its swarming pressure.
 
"You look 11 assists and 11 turnovers and that's really not that good against most teams," Wright said. "But against them it's not bad. You saw it – any time we turned it over they were out and they're gone. They're great at it and it's hard to do. They run hard, they give the ball up.
 
"For us, taking care of the ball was really important."
 
St. John's reeled off a 13-2 burst before a Gillespie drive for two ended the run with 1:43 to play in the second half. His free throw made it a 69-57 margin and the Wildcats went on to post the 73-62 victory.
 
Villanova played without reserve guard Bryan Antoine, who suffered a left ankle sprain in Tuesday night's victory over DePaul.
 
The Wildcats next opponent is Marquette. The Wildcats and Golden Eagles are slated to meet Wednesday night at 10 p.m. eastern time at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee (FS1 and the Villanova IHeart Radio network). Marquette edged Nova 57-54 in a game that went to the wire at Finneran Pavilion on Jan. 19.