It didn’t take long for the honeymoon from Villanova’s dominant run at the Battle 4 Atlantis to end.

The Wildcats returned to Philadelphia and promptly lost a second Big Five game, this time to St. Joe’s, 78-65.

“They were tough defensively, they made some really tough shots as well and they played with a lot of energy and passion,” Kyle Neptune said of the Hawks following the loss.

The teams battled in classic Big Five style through most of the first half, with neither team opening up for than a two-possession advantage and playing to a tie with 4:55 to play. But the Hawks finished the half on a 14-6 run to take a 43-35 lead into the break.

Villanova didn’t play particularly poorly in the first half. There were some things they’d like to have done better, especially defensively as St. Joe’s shot 61% overall and 44% from three and scored 18 points in the paint while hitting 83% of its two-point attempts. Obviously ‘Nova would like those numbers to be better, especially the interior defense that was such a strength during the run in the Bahamas. But the ‘Cats shot 52% overall and 40% from three while getting to the line nine times and hitting seven. More than serviceable offensive numbers, and Villanova would expect to win most games posting such offensive numbers. The real issue was turnovers. The ‘Cats committed a game’s worth of turnovers in the first half (11), leading to 16 points for St. Joe’s. That clearly played a role in the Hawks’ stellar offensive performance and was obviously important considering the eight-point margin.

After St. Joe’s scored the first six points of the second half to push the lead to 14, it appeared that ‘Nova had addressed the first-half issues. The defense started playing much better and the team was taking care of the basketball. As a result, the Wildcats were able to cut the lead to seven with 12 minutes to go. But the ‘Cats then started to struggle to put the ball in the basket, hampering their efforts to cut into the lead further and complete the comeback. They missed several wide-open threes and several shots around the rim during this stretch. And before ‘Nova had a chance to address the sudden offensive struggles, the improvements disappeared.

The ‘Cats were still within seven with eight minutes to go but would be thoroughly outplayed the rest of the way as St. Joe’s build the lead to as much as 17. The Hawks shot 52% in the second half, including 7-11 (64%) from three. Villanova, meanwhile, shot just 31% in the second half, including 4-22 (18%) from three. For the game, St. Joe’s shot 57% overall and 52% from three to Villanova’s 39% overall and 27% from three. The Hawks scored 28 points off 17 Villanova turnovers.

“They shot 64% from three in the second half, 44% in the first half,” Neptune said. “57% from the field for the game, I think that was where we got hurt.”

“They moved the ball, they ran great stuff,” Neptune added about the defensive struggles. “They got some open shots and they made some tough shots as well.”

“They’re a really good team,” Neptune continued. “They had great schemes. They got the ball moving, they got some matchups that they liked, and they took advantage.”