Overview
 
A 27-12 surge to open the second half proved to be the difference Saturday night as St. John's held off Villanova 86-79 before 14,899 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
 
The Wildcats were down 36-35 at intermission but the Red Storm used a multi-pronged attack to build a lead. Bryce Hopkins led St. John's with 20 points while Ian Jackson added 18 points and Zuby Ejiofor 17 points and seven rebounds.
 
Tyler Perkins paced Villanova with 23 points and Devin Askew added 21 points.
 
The Red Storm outscored Villanova 42-22 on points in the paint.
 
"That's something they've done really well for the last five games – continue to put pressure on you in transition," said Villanova head coach Kevin Willard. "I thought we mostly did a pretty good job in the first half of stopping their runs. But ever since they put (Dillon) Mitchell in there, he's really changed their gear. Zuby is just phenomenal.
 
"To only be down one at the half and then came out in the second half and had two quick turnovers. It kind of killed us."
 
Fast Pace to Start
 
The Red Storm entered the game averaging 86.0 points per game, so it wasn't a shock that the early tempo was quick. Villanova scored the game's first four points before St. John's reeled off the next five. A Perkins triple allowed the Wildcats to nudge on top 10-9 at the night's first official timeout.
 
The up-and-down pace, that included some ¾ court and full court trapping by both teams, led to an 18-16 lead when Acaden Lewis found Zion Stanford for a transition basket. St. John's came right back, though, as a baseline drive to score and a subsequent free throw gave the Red Storm a 19-18 edge at the 11:08 mark of the first half.
 
Storm Surged Before Devin Delivered
 
St. John's was able to assert itself at the defensive end, which created transition opportunities at the other end. It converted 6-of-8 field goals while holding the Wildcats without one over a span of nearly four minutes midway through the first half.
 
The Red Storm led 27-22.
 
The pattern continued, helping the Red Storm stretch the advantage to 35-28 before a Devin Askew corner triple shaved the Wildcats' deficit to 35-31. A short while later, Askew added another deep ball and Nova was within 36-35 when the halftime horn sounded.
 
Numbers Crunching
 
All that defensive heat showed up in the turnover column. Villanova forced nine Red Storm turnovers while the Wildcats had eight of their own.
 
Although Villanova was just 10-of-28 from the field in the first 20 minutes (.357), five of those came from long distance. Askew led Nova with 10 points while Perkins – who missed the final minutes of the period after picking up his second foul – added eight points.
 
Meanwhile, St. John's was 12-of-21 from inside the arc and 1-of-6 from beyond it.
 
Second Act
 
St. John's kicked its offense into overdrive in the first 8:45 of the second half. The Red Storm outscored the Wildcats 27-12, converting 11-of-16 field goals in that stretch to expand its lead to 63-47.
 
But Villanova kept battling and when Perkins drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key, the Wildcats had shaved the lead to 66-59 with just more than eight minutes on the clock. On their next possession the Red Storm kicked the ball to an open Jason Sanon, who dropped in a 3-pointer to restore the double-digit margin to 69-59.
 
The Wildcats clawed back to within 78-73 after an Askew 3-pointer with 1:49 to play. But after a defensive stop, Nova was unable to convert at the other end, and two Bryce Hopkins free throws made it 80-73 with 1:03 left. Perkins made a layup at the 59 second mark before Zuby Ejiofor scored on a drive to make it 82-75.
 
Villanova could get no closer, ultimately falling 86-79.
 
What They Said
 
Willard: "Acaden, Matt, Bryce – freshman, freshman, sophomore. They're going against grown men. That's why Devin and Tyler played well. They were able to play well against a physical St. John's team. I think the younger guys are all still trying to figure out how to play against a physically dominant team. We've struggled against physically dominant teams for that reason."
 
Perkins: "They're an experienced team. They like to rebound, especially offensively. We've just got to do a better job of containing that."