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No. 6 Villanova has big 2nd half, tops St. John’s 68-53

Kris Jenkins

Villanova’s Kris Jenkins (2) celebrates as St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin, left, reacts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

AP

NEW YORK (AP) Josh Hart had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Kris Jenkins added 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 6 Villanova to 68-53 victory over St. John’s on Sunday, the Red Storm’s 12th straight loss.

The Wildcats (18-3, 8-1) held onto first place in the Big East by bouncing back from a horrible first half to pull away in the final minutes. The Wildcats shot 50 percent (14 of 28) from the field in the second half and held at least a 10-point lead over the final 13 minutes. The biggest lead was 20 points.

Mikal Bridges added 13 points for Villanova, which finished with a slight rebound advantage. The Wildcats had a nine-game winning streak snapped by No. 10 Providence in their last game.

Durand Johnson had 13 points to lead St. John’s (7-15, 0-9), which struggled with turnovers throughout the game at Madison Square Garden, committing 21, well above its season average of 14.6. Villanova had 20 turnovers.

The first half was a terrible exhibition of shooting and ball-handling.

Villanova, which came in third in the conference at 46.4 percent from the field, shot 7 for 30 (23.3 percent), including 2 for 10 from 3-point range. It was the Wildcats’ worst first half shooting this season. They shot 26.7 percent (8 of 30) in a 78-55 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma in Hawaii.

St. John’s shot 32.3 percent (10 for 31), 5 for 11 on 3-point attempts, and the Red Storm had 10 turnovers, one less than Villanova, which came into the game averaging 10.9 for 40 minutes.

OUT: Villanova center Daniel Ochefu didn’t play. The 6-foot-11 senior suffered a concussion during practice on Friday. Ochefu is averaging 9.7 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds. He is shooting 59.6 percent from the field, fifth in the Big East.

FAMOUS FANS: It wasn’t as impressive as the celebrities the New York Knicks draw but in attendance Sunday was tennis great John McEnroe, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Hall of Fame St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca.

TIP-INS:

Villanova: The Wildcats have a six-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden that includes last season’s Big East Tournament. ... This was the 112th meeting between the schools with the first game in 1909. St. John’s leads the series 60-52. ... Villanova hit its first 3-pointer of the second half exactly 12 minutes earlier (15:45) than the Wildcats did in the first half.

St. John’s: Before the current streak, the longest losing streak in school history was seven games. ... This was the sixth game the Red Storm played without freshman center Yankuba Sima, who broke his hand. In the previous five games St. John’s did not outrebound an opponent. The last game - a loss to Seton Hall - saw the Red Storm outrebounded 56-40. ... St. John’s entered the game first in the Big East and seventh nationally with 6.2 blocks per game.

UP NEXT

Villanova hosts Creighton on Tuesday.

St. John’s at No. 7 Xavier on Tuesday.