NEW YORK (March 9, 2017) – St. John’s Wednesday night win, the team’s first BIG EAST Tournament win in six years, was not able to keep the team on track. With the Wildcats shooting 63 percent from the floor and putting up 15 3-pointers, Villanova was able to take away another win, 108-67, against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Marcus LoVett and Bashir Ahmed both shot 12 points apiece for the Red Storm.  LoVett also had a team-high five assists.  Shamorie Ponds and Amar Alibegovic also added in nine points each, along with four assists from Ponds.  Ponds also sank two 3-pointers and pushed up his season-long total to 75, which was one shy of D’Angelo Harrison for the St. John’s single-season record in that category.

Villanova shot 36-of-57 from the field and made 21 of their 25 attempts from the charity stripe. The Wildcats also recorded 23 assists and only had eight turnovers. Trailing 12-8 following a LoVett jumper With 15:47 to play in the first half and trailing a 12-8 deficit, St. John’s let Villanova take over the game with a 21-8 lead only five minutes later. Villanova continued to build their lead throughout the first half and were up by 26, 52-26, with a Kris Jenkins 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Wildcats were able to get ahead by 30 in the first minutes of the second stanza and eventually got that lead up to a high 43 by the ending of the game. Six Villanova players were able to finish the contest in double figures. Donte DiVincenzo led the team with 25 points, along with Jenkins adding 24.