NEW YORK, N.Y. – A pair of free throws from senior forward Brandon Slater with 2.8 seconds to play lifted No. 8 Villanova to a pulsating 66-65 victory over St. John's in a BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal game Thursday played before a capacity crowd of 19, 812 at Madison Square Garden.
 
The Red Storm's final attempt from beyond half-court was wide, allowing Villanova to grab the win. It had trailed by 17 points earlier in the second half. This marked the largest second half deficit the Wildcats (24-7 overall) overcame in any contest in 2021-22.
 
"We work on free throws every day in practice," said Slater. "When I step up to the line my teammates and coaches reminded me, it's just liked practice. They gave me that confidence and I was able to knock them down."
 
Just before game time Villanova learned it would have to go without Jermaine Samuels due to back spasms. Caleb Daniels took Samuels' spot in the starting lineup.
 
St. John's built on the momentum it crafted in Wednesday night's 92-73 victory over DePaul. Seven points from Julian Champagnie in the first 4:29 helped the Red Storm build a 9-6 lead at the first official timeout. Villanova connected on just 2-of-11 from the field in the game's opening five minutes.
 
"We've watched them their last few games and we know how well St. John's was playing," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "In this league we all know it isn't like there's one team that's dominant. Providence is the No. 1 seed and had a tough game against Butler today. That's what's so great about this tournament this year.
 
"You can see the crowds here, the intensity and it's on a whole other level. This conference is as good as its ever been this year."
 
As the period continued the Red Storm defense kept the Wildcats in check. After Joel Soriano sank two free throws at the 8:07 mark, St. John's held a 19-10 lead. Samuels entered the game at that juncture. A pair of Caleb Daniels 3-pointer closed the gap to 19-16 before five straight points by the Red Storm gave it a 24-16 advantage with 6:24 on the clock.
 
Four more points after a pair of Wildcats turnovers made it a 9-0 Red Storm spurt and a 28-16 lead.
 
"St. John's was really good defensively," noted Wright. "We also didn't know until right before the game that Samuels wasn't going to be able to start. Ten minutes before the game he came out of warmups and his back locked up. We didn't know if Eric (Dixon) was going to play because he was struggling with a stomach virus. We kind of got out of sync a little bit. St. John's got in us and we didn't execute well in the first half."
 
Three-pointers on consecutive possessions from Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore narrowed the deficit to 28-22 with just more than two minutes to play in the period. But the Wildcats could get no closer and trailed 30-23 at intermission.
 
St. John's defense was the main story. The Red Storm limited Villanova to 7-of-30 shooting from the field (.233), including 5-of-19 (.263) from long range. The Wildcats' defense was nearly as good, holding St. John's to .417 shooting in the period and a single 3-pointer.
 
Daniels led Villanova with nine first half points.
 
"We weren't down or disappointed with how we played at halftime," said Wright. "It was the same way when we got down by 17. We know they're good and this is how it is."
 
The Red Storm scored the first seven points of the second half, the last on a Champagnie 3-pointer, to take a 37-23 lead two minutes into the period. Meanwhile, the Wildcats went without a point for 3:05 until Moore sank two free throws. When the Red Storm scored four more points, it held a 41-25 lead at the 16:13 mark of the second half.
 
Five points from Moore got Villanova to within 44-30 with 14:33 to play. By the time Gillespie sank a 3-pointer, the 'Cats had shaved the margin to 44-35 at the 13:11 mark. The Wildcats kept the pressure on, narrowing the deficit to 46-40 after a Daniels triple. When Gillespie found Slater on fast break, and Slater converted the basket and added a free throw, VU was down 46-45.
 
When Daniels sank two free throws as part of a 1-and-1 opportunity, Villanova had its first lead of the night, 51-50. Two Samuels free throws pushed the Nova advantage to 59-55 before St. John's tallied the next three points to close the lead to 59-58 with 4:30 on the clock.
 
Two Brandon Slater free throws gave VU a 61-58 lead before St. John's got a putback score and forced a turnover. The Wildcats held a 61-60 lead at the 3:32 mark of regulation.
 
Villanova got a basket by Samuels and free throw from Gillespie to push the lead to 64-62 but a Stef Smith traditional 3-point play with just more than two minutes on the clock put St. John's up 65-64. The Wildcats got a big defensive stop in the final minute, setting up a final possession down by a point with 22.4 seconds left.
 
A driving bid by Samuels missed by Slater grabbed the rebound and was fouled as he attempted his own shot. The Centreville, Va., native calmly sank the first free throw to tie the game before St. John's used its final timeout. When he stepped back to the stripe, he drained the second.
 
"We put pressure on ourselves to make it like a game situation in practice," Slater stated. "That pressure we have in practice, in the summer time, fall and when we get into the season helps us build those reps. We literally do it every single day in practice."