PHILADELPHIA _ Villanova knew that St. John's was going to provide a challenge with its defense Wednesday night, and it took the Wildcats quite a while to find the key offensively and take control.
The 12th-ranked Wildcats took double-digit leads on three separate occasions before a senior night sellout at Finneran Pavilion, only to see the Red Storm come back each time to twice draw to within one possession, and once tie the game.
But the Cats gained the momentum for good with a 16-5 run and rolled on to a 71-60 victory, their fifth consecutive win, and moved into a tie for second place in the Big East.
Villanova (22-6, 11-4) scored 10 straight points at the start of the second half to go up 46-36, but the Red Storm (14-14, 3-12) kept chipping away and got to within two, 53-51, on Rasheem Dunn's conventional three-point play with 8 minutes, 2 seconds remaining.
But the Cats scored on their next six possessions with Jeremiah Robinson-Earl going 7-of-8 on free throws, and seven straight points by Justin Moore extended the 'Nova lead to 69-56 with 1:57 to play.
Saddiq Bey led the Wildcats with 23 points and Moore added 21. The two players combined to knock down nine of Villanova's 11 three-point baskets. Jermaine Samuels had 10 rebounds and Robinson-Earl eight as 'Nova won the battle of the boards, 46-31.
Dunn and Marcellus Earlington scored 12 points each to lead St. John's.
The Red Storm showed plenty of resiliency thanks to their defense. In the first half, they had six steals and forced nine turnovers, scoring 10 points off the miscues. They also had five offensive rebounds to zero for Villanova, scoring four second-chance points.
The Wildcats, which leads the Big East in fewest turnovers at 10.7 per game, settled down and had just four turnovers in the second half, 13 for the game.
They finished shooting 43.1% for the game, and St. John's connected on 34.8% of its field-goal attempts.
