Red Storm Rally Falls Short, 75-69, against No. 15 Villanova

Tuesday, February 8

New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)

8:30 p.m.

St. John's University

13-10, 5-7BE

No. 15/15 Villanova

18-6, 11-3BE

Villanova

St. John's

Red Storm Rally Falls Short, 75-69, against No. 15 Villanova

2/9/2022 12:05:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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St. John’s basketball team rattled off a 23-6 run in the closing minutes of the game

NEW YORK – Trailing by 20 with less than five minutes to play, the Red Storm rallied to make it a one-possession game with 35 seconds remaining, but could not fully close the gap, as No. 15/15 Villanova escaped with a 75-69 victory on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Graduate student Aaron Wheeler led the way for the Red Storm (13-10, 5-7 BIG EAST), netting a career-high 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including a 6-for-10 effort from beyond the arc. The Purdue transfer also added seven rebounds and two blocks. Entering Tuesday, Wheeler had never scored more than 17 points in 116 collegiate appearances.

Julian Champagnie, who was visibly hampered after being on the receiving end of a few hard fouls in the first half, also finished in double figures, scoring 12 points in 31 minutes of action.

Stef Smith logged all 12 of his points in the second half, 10 of which came in the final 3:19 of the contest to help anchor the Red Storm's late run.

Starting in place of the injured Posh Alexander, Dylan Addae-Wusu finished with five points, five assists and a career-high 11 rebounds.

The two teams traded buckets in the early going, as St. John's grabbed an 8-7 lead on a Wheeler midrange jumper five minutes into the contest. Villanova (18-6, 11-3 BIG EAST) responded with a 7-0 run and led by at least two possessions for the remainder of the half.

The Wildcats were ahead by as many as nine, 32-23, with less than two minutes to go before two more buckets from Wheeler brought the Red Storm within six at the half, 34-28.

On the team's first offensive possession of the second half, Wheeler knocked down his third trey of the game to bring St. John's within three, 34-31, before Villanova answered with a 13-0 run.

With the Johnnies facing their largest deficit of the game to that point, Wheeler drained a triple and followed with an old-fashioned three-point play, bringing the Red Storm back within 10, 47-37, with 13:23 to go.

Trailing by 17, 68-51, after a pair of Chris Arcidiacono free throws with three minutes left, St. John's rattled off eight straight to pull back within single digits, 68-59, and force a Villanova timeout. Smith connected on consecutive three-point plays to kick start the spurt before Wheeler drained his ninth field goal of the game.

Following a pair of free throws from Brandon Slater, Wheeler recorded five straight to make it a two-possession game, 70-64, with just under a minute to go.

Justin Moore and Smith traded layups before Montez Mathis came up with a steal and Wheeler drained his sixth three of the night, making it a one-possession game, 72-69, with 35 ticks left of the clock. In total, the Red Storm's run stood at 23-6 after trailing by as many as 20 with 4:27 to play.

On the ensuing offensive possession, St. John's forced another Villanova turnover to have a chance at a game-tying shot. Tareq Coburn a look from the right wing, but his 3-pointer attempt rattled out. Villanova promptly made three of its final four attempts from the line to ice the game.

St. John's will return to action on Sunday when it plays to host to No. 24/23 Connecticut at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. on FS1.