No. 9 Villanova 74, Saint Joseph's 46: Josh Hart led a balanced attack with 12 points and eight rebounds and the Wildcats defense suffocated the visiting Hawks.
Darrun Hilliard collected 11 points, four assists and a pair of steals and blocks for Villanova (8-0), which forced 13 turnovers in the first half and shot 8-of-15 from the arc before the break to take an overwhelming 44-24 lead. Phil Booth scored 11 points while Kris Jenkins had eight points and four steals as the Wildcats improved to 2-0 in Big 5 play this season and won its sixth straight game in the historic Philadelphia city schools’ tradition.
DeAndre Bembry had 13 points and four steals for St. Joseph's (4-4), which shot 30.5 percent from the field after entering shooting 37.7 percent. Chris Wilson and Brendan Casper scored nine points apiece as the Hawks dropped to 1-1 in Big 5 play this season.
Jenkins drained two 3-pointers and fellow reserve Hart added another over a 59-second span as Villanova jumped to an early 17-2 lead. The Hawks used an 11-4 run, highlighted by two baskets from Bembry, to get within 32-20 with over five minutes to play.
Dylan Ennis and Booth knocked down 3-pointers as Villanova closed the half on a 12-4 run, and Saint Joseph's went nearly nine minutes in the second half without a field goal (15 attempts) as the Wildcats pushed the edge to 56-26. The Hawks got no closer than 22 the rest of the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Despite the undefeated start to the season, no player has scored 20 points in a game yet for Villanova. … Villanova has sold out 150 consecutive games in The Pavilion dating back to the 2000-01 season. … At one stretch in the game, Saint Joseph's shot 1-for-25.
St. Joseph's | Villanova | |
DeAndre Bembry 13 | Scoring | Josh Hart 12 |
Shavar Newkirk 3 | Assists | Ryan Arcidiacono 4 |
Brendan Casper 9 | Rebounds | Josh Hart 8 |
DeAndre Bembry 3 | Free Throws Made | JayVaughn Pinkston 5 |
DeAndre Bembry 4 | Steals | Kris Jenkins 4 |
Javon Baumann 1 | Blocks | Darrun Hilliard 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
St. Joseph's | 46 | 30.5 | 1-10 | 9-21 | 9 | 36 | 4 | 6 | 21 |
Villanova | 74 | 44.8 | 9-23 | 13-24 | 15 | 38 | 6 | 13 | 15 |