St. John's Red Storm vs Villanova Wildcats Match Player Stats On Jan 29, 2022

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