St. John’s Secures Easy Victory Against Villanova

St. John's Red Storm vs. Villanova Wildcats

Joel Soriano accumulated 21 points and nine rebounds as St. John’s claimed a 70-50 win over visiting Villanova on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Red Storm (13-7, 5-4 Big East) halted a three-game losing streak and completed a season sweep of Villanova for the first time since 1992-93 — the season following the retirement of the renowned coach, Lou Carnesecca.

St. John’s maintained the lead for most of the game and outscored Villanova 25-11 in the final 10 minutes.

Soriano contributed 15 points in the second half, shooting 8 of 9 from the field in 30 minutes and accumulating a total of 41 points in St John’s two victories over Villanova this season. The center played a pivotal role in St. John’s 42-23 rebounding advantage, including 15 offensive rebounds by the Red Storm.

Jordan Dingle, who missed the losses to Marquette and Seton Hall due to illness, scored 12 points as St. John’s shot 46.7 percent from the field. Soriano and Dingle were the only players to reach double figures for the Red Storm, securing their most decisive conference win under first-year coach Rick Pitino.

Eric Dixon led Villanova (11-8, 4-4) with 16 points while T.J. Bamba added 12. Dixon and Bamba combined for a 10 of 17 shooting performance, but the Wildcats only managed to shoot 37.5 percent overall and a dismal 4 of 25 from 3-point range, resulting in their third consecutive loss and a season-low point tally.

St John’s extended its lead to 21-11 with eight consecutive points in 62 seconds, culminating in a 3-pointer by Drissa Traore with 10:01 remaining. The team then capped off a 15-2 run when Soriano’s jumper increased their lead to 28-13 with 6:42 left in the first half.

Following seven straight points by Villanova, consecutive baskets by Simeon Wilcher helped St. John’s secure a 32-22 halftime lead.

Successive layups by Dixon and Hakim Hart brought Villanova within 40-35 at the 12:46 mark. Another basket by Dixon narrowed the gap to 42-37 with 10:42 remaining, but Soriano’s three-point play and Jordan Dingle‘s layup extended St. John’s lead to 52-39 with 7:43 left.

The Red Storm sealed the victory with approximately three minutes remaining, as consecutive baskets by Dingle brought the score to 61-42.

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