National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Villanova 73, St. John's 62
When: 4:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 29, 2022
Where: William B. Finneran Pavilion, Villanova, Pennsylvania
Officials: # Pat Driscoll, # Lamar Simpson, # Greg Evans
Attendance: 6501

Collin Gillespie scored 17 points, Eric Dixon added 15 points and seven rebounds, and host Villanova defeated St. John's 73-62 on Saturday.

Caleb Daniels had 15 points for the No. 14-ranked Wildcats (16-5, 9-2 Big East), who won their third game in a row.

Montez Mathis led St. John's (11-8, 3-5) with 14 points, and Julian Champagnie added nine.

The Red Storm shot only 19 percent (4 of 21) from 3-point territory.

Gillespie hit a 3-pointer with 11:02 left in the first half to tie the game at 13. Tareq Coburn responded with a dunk for St. John's on its next possession.

Villanova went ahead 20-17 with eight minutes remaining when Moore hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire.

Brandon Slater made two free throws with 4:18 left to give the Wildcats a 25-19 advantage.

Coburn was fouled on the Red Storm's next possession, but he missed both free throws.

Villanova took advantage as Daniels scored, Justin Moore added a 3-pointer, and Daniels contributed a trey to cap a run for a 33-19 lead with 2:53 left.

Villanova led 40-26 at halftime thanks in large part to Daniels' 10 points.

Mathis paced St. John's with seven in the half. The Red Storm struggled from beyond the 3-point arc, going 2 of 12.

The tempo was a bit ragged through the first few minutes of the second half as St. John's trailed 43-30 after Posh Alexander's layup. Alexander had missed his first six shots before connecting.

Daniels continued to hit clutch shots, and his 3-pointer with 12:42 remaining gave the Wildcats a 49-34 lead.

Dixon hit two free throws with 7:51 to go as Villanova's lead ballooned to 59-40.

The Red Storm continued to struggle from 3-point territory and still trailed 66-49 with 3:14 left. However, Stef Smith's 3-pointer with 2:10 remaining completed an 8-0 spurt and cut the deficit to 66-57.

But Gillespie responded with a 3-point play to help seal the win.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
St. John's   Villanova
Montez Mathis 14 Scoring Collin Gillespie 17
Dylan Addae-Wusu 4 Assists Justin Moore 4
Julian Champagnie 7 Rebounds Eric Dixon 7
Posh Alexander 3 Free Throws Made Eric Dixon 6
Tareq Coburn 2 Steals Jermaine Samuels 2
Joel Soriano 3 Blocks Justin Moore 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
St. John's 62 39.7 4-21 8-17 16 33 5 6 11
Villanova 73 43.8 11-23 20-24 11 31 6 5 11