No. 9 St. John’s disturbance of Villanova when 10-game victory traits end

On By Littum

Villanova, Pa. – In the end, the slow starts had to bite St. John’s. At one point, a shaking first half had to be too much to overcome.

Four times it had drawn by 14 points and won. Not Wednesday night. Not against a desperate villanova in the hope of playing into the NCAA tournament bubble.

Without Top Reserve Deivon Smith, the ninth ranked Johnnies couldn’t quite rally out of another hole. They pulled with 11 in the second half, came back, but were then undone by Tyler Perkins’ 3-pointer in the final seconds of a strip-busting, 73-71 losses to wildcats.

Villanova’s Enoch Boakye, Left, responds after scoring past St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor during the first half. AP
Tyler Perkins and Jordan Longino from Villanova Wildcats celebrate after disturbing St. John’s Red Storm 73-71 at Finneran Pavilion on February 12, 2025. Getty Images

So good in crunch time during the 10-game-winning row, came St. John’s card up this time. Eric Dixon hit a pair of 3-Pointers deep in the shot clock as part of a 9-2 race that gave Villanova the lead.

The Red Storm gathered to move on on the Simeon Wilcher’s 3-Pointer with 27.3 seconds left, but Perkins replied at the other end from deep. Wilchers 3-Pointer at the Summer was off right.

The usual persistence was missing at the defensive end. Villanova shot a blistering 53.5 percent off the field and hit 11 3-Pointers in 24 attempts.

Aaron Scott led St. John’s with 22 points, and Kadary Richmond added 17 points and 10 assists. Wilcher and RJ Luis each had 12. Wooga Poplar had 22 points for Villanova.

The start is reminiscent of the first half against Connecticut, then St. John’s was in the mud defensively. Wildcats made 11 of their first 16 shots and scored 12 of the game’s first 14 points in the paint. There was just line drive into the track and wide open 3-Pointers.

Red Storm Forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) controls the ball against Villanova Wildcats Frem Enoch Boakye (13) in the first half of William B. Finneran Pavilion. US Today Sports through Reuters Con

Villanova kept a 10-point lead late in the first half, but like the Uconn game, St. John’s opening 20 minutes well. A 10-2 race that included 3-Pointers from rarely used reserves Sadiku Ibine Ayo and Lafteris Liotopoulos cut the deficit to two during the break. Villanova succeeded only two points during the last 5:47 of the period.

It was still an uncharacteristic half. St. John’s only succeeded four points in the paint. It tried 21 3-Pointers, making seven of them.

It couldn’t remain in front of wildcats. Luis and Zuby Ejiofor were scoreless on eight missed shots.

Villanova’s Tyler Perkins, Right, and Jordan Longino celebrate after Villanova beat St. John’s, Wednesday, February 12, 2025. AP

But Johnnies got a combined 19 points from Scott and Wilcher and held Dixon for five points on 2-for-8 shooting and went into the break with momentum.

St. John’s started the second half well with five straight points from Luis. But it couldn’t maintain it. Villanova quickly regained the lead on consecutive 3-Pointers from Tyler Perkins and Poplar and took control.

Red Storm Guard Aaron Scott (0) responds after scoring against Villanova Wildcats in the first half of William B. Finneran Pavilion. US Today Sports through Reuters Con

It kept a game-high 14-point edge with 9:56 to go after another Perkin’s 3-pointer, Villanova’s eighth at night at the time. St. John’s finally worked due to defeat, one step slowly and unable to tighten together stop.

It answered again and rolled 14 straight points from, starting with four straight from Richmond. A Scott 3-Pointer and Luis offensive rebound and follow made it a one-point game with 8:15 back, and after a timeout, Ejiofor Johnnies gave their first lead since the opening minutes in the second half.