No. 8 Villanova 79, St. John’s 59: Stats, highlights and reaction from the Wildcats’ victory

NEW YORK — The main requirement for No. 8 Villanova’s trip Tuesday night to Madison Square Garden was to keep its composure and focus against the suffocating press of St. John’s, a defense that has been forcing almost 18 turnovers per game.

The Wildcats achieved their goal thanks to a solid night by Collin Gillespie handling the basketball, and Gillespie helped in other areas, too.

The junior point guard was at the center of everything in the Wildcats’ 79-59 victory over the Johnnies before a Garden crowd of 10,155. He achieved his first career double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. He handed out 6 assists, made 3 steals and committed one turnover in nearly 37 minutes of playing time.

Playing without starting forward Jermaine Samuels, who has a sprained left foot, the Cats (17-3, 7-1 Big East) picked up their seventh straight victory and 13th win in their last 14 games with the help of lengthy spurts in each half.

They held the Red Storm (13-9, 2-7) to 3-of-15 shooting and outscored them 24-7 in the final 9 minutes, 9 seconds of the first half to take a 39-26 lead at the break. St. John’s got as close as eight early in the second half but the Wildcats put together a 22-6 run over a 7 ½-minute stretch to take their largest lead, 68-44, with 7:11 to play.

Villanova did a fine job handling the St. John’s press. The Wildcats committed 13 turnovers but five of them came after they had built their 24-point advantage. The Red Storm scored just 11 points off the turnovers, as compared to 21 in last year’s 71-65 win here over ‘Nova.

Offensive rebounding also helped out. After grabbing just two in Saturday’s win over Providence, the Cats got 10 Tuesday night leading to 16 second-chance points. They held a 40-31 rebounding edge overall.

Bey knocked down five three-point baskets and led the Wildcats with 23 points. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl posted his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds while Justin Moore, who had come off the bench in his last 13 games, started in Samuels’ place and contributed 11 points and 4 assists.

Rasheem Dunn led the Johnnies with 22.

The Wildcats shot 55.6% from the floor in the second half and 47.5% in the game.

Villanova coach Jay Wright: “We talked as a team about, we’re going to get into the game and early we’re not going to be used to [St. John’s] speed. But as you play, you’ll get used to it. You just can’t simulate that in practice. Their quickness and speed is really tough. That’s why I thought in the second half we were better. You get a feel for it, how much you can put the ball on the floor.”

Wright, on Gillespie’s rebounding: “He’s a beast, man. I always say this to our team, Ryan Arcidiacono used to have a way of whatever the team needed, he found a way. We haven’t been rebounding well so Collin goes and rebounds his head off. That’s impressive, really impressive.”

St. John’s coach Mike Anderson: “Let’s give Villanova credit. We got off to a pretty good start and then they settled in. Their experience, I think, showed. … It seems like we were a half-step slow compared to where they were and they took advantage of it, and that’s what good teams, too. They’re one of the top 10 teams in the country and there’s a reason why.”

With both teams lined up at the foul lines in front of their benches, 24 seconds of silence were observed before the game to honor Kobe Bryant, his daughter and the seven other persons who perished in Sunday’s helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles.

Some Wildcats had to increase their workload in Samuels’ absence with good results. Cole Swider, who averages 20 minutes a game as a starter, played more than 31 Tuesday night and scored 11 points. Brandon Slater got 15 ½ minutes on the court and played his usual hustling defense. Freshman Bryan Antoine came on for two runs totaling more than seven minutes.

Wright said he did not think Samuels’ injury was serious and that he was hoping to get him back for Saturday’s game against Creighton at the Wells Fargo Center. “We’ll just have to see how he does this week,” he said.