Posh Alexander scored 16 points, Julian Champagnie added 14 points and 13 rebounds and St. John's defeated No. 3 Villanova 70-59 on Wednesday in New York.

Vince Cole had 12 points for the Red Storm (12-7, 6-6 Big East), who won their fifth consecutive game as they work to get back into NCAA Tournament contention.

Caleb Daniels led Villanova (11-2, 6-1) with 16 points while Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 14 points and 17 rebounds. The Wildcats saw their nine-game winning streak end as they became the last Big East team to lose a conference game.

Collin Gillespie, one of Villanova's two leading scorers, missed all eight of his 3-point attempts and finished with only four points.

The Wildcats committed 17 turnovers while St. John's gave the ball away 13 times. The Red Storm shot 41.9 percent from the floor while Villanova hit just 32.3 percent.

After taking a quick 10-3 lead, Villanova was unable to pull further ahead.

St. John's eventually reeled off a 10-0 run to go ahead 23-19 with 7:11 remaining in the first half on a Dylan Addae-Wusu 3-pointer. The Red Storm's stingy defense continued for the rest of the half, and the hosts held a 30-27 advantage entering the break.

Villanova, which averages only 8.3 turnovers per game, uncharacteristically committed seven in the first half while shooting 10-for-35.

Alexander led all scorers on both teams with 10 points by halftime.

St. John's was aggressive early in the second half, especially on the defensive end, and moved ahead 40-29 after a 10-2 spurt. The lead was extended to 49-34 with 10:41 left as the Wildcats continued to misfire from the field.

After Villanova methodically closed within 51-41, the Red Storm scored the next five points, capped by a deep 3-pointer by Champagnie for a 56-41 advantage with 7:05 to go.

The Wildcats were never able to string together enough successful possessions down the stretch and ultimately had their winning streak broken.

--Field Level Media