NEW YORK _ Jay Wright and Josh Hart were frustrated and disappointed after Villanova competed Saturday against St. John's. And their team won.
The third-ranked Wildcats struggled with the young and feisty Red Storm, piling up 20 turnovers and shooting mostly bricks to start each half, but utilized their rebounding and experience to gain a 70-57 victory before 17,309 at Madison Square Garden.
Although the Cats dominated the boards, 41-23, and went 14-1 on second-chance points, Wright said they didn't bring it.
"I think that was an example of a young hungry team playing harder than a veteran team, wanting it a little more," the Wildcats coach said. "They just took it to us. We just have some veteran players that made plays, but I'm disappointed in our effort, impressed with St. John's, their aggressiveness and tenacity."
The Cats (17-1, 5-1 Big East) made just four of their first 16 shots from the field in the opening half, and began the second half 3-for-15. Kris Jenkins missed his first nine shots but drained a 3-point basket with just under five minutes to play to end a 7-0 run and boost his team's margin to 12, and the Red Storm (8-11, 2-4) never got closer than 10.
Hart, the Big East's top scorer, was held to 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting. He gave credit to the bench players in the Wildcats' seven-man rotation _ Donte DiVincenzo and Eric Paschall _ for providing a spark.
"We didn't bring it and that's on our three seniors," Hart said. "We have to set a tone. We have to be examples for these guys and that's something that we didn't do. Tay and Eric came off the bench and brought energy, but that's something we can't have continue, especially going down the stretch.
"We've got to be committed to bring it from the start for 40 minutes, and that's something we struggled with today."
DiVincenzo, a redshirt freshman, scored a career-high 19 points, going 7-for-10 from the field and knocking down three 3s. Paschall scored nine points and played much of the second half.
"There's a lot of positives that come out of this game," Wright said. "With Donte, no one on our team is surprised by that, but it's good that other teams see that. It's good that he's doing it in games, on the road. Getting Eric going is important for us."
St. John's placed four players in double figures, led by Shamorie Ponds with 13. Sophomore Malik Ellison had 10 points, three assists, and three steals.
Villanova turned the ball over 12 times _ more than it has in 10 full games this year _ in the first half and trailed by six points, but made 7 of its last 10 attempts to lead 35-29 at the break. The Red Storm never caught up in the second half, but they were within 53-48 with just under seven minutes to play.
However, Paschall's layup ignited a 13-1 run over the next 3 minutes, 41 seconds to put the game away, although St. John's never stopped playing, something to remember when the two teams meet again in three weeks at the Wells Fargo Center.
"I just think, you do this to St. John's the next time you play, you probably get beat," Wright said. "They're going to get older and more experienced. If they create a disparity in how hard they play, how aggressive they are next time, they'll probably beat us."
