For the ninth consecutive time, Villanova has won the Holy War after pulling away from rival St. Joe's for an 88-68 win Saturday night. The victory moved the Wildcats to 7-1 on the season.
The first half proved to be a closely contested affair. Villanova threatened several times to create some significant separation but the Hawks responded each time to keep the game close. ‘Nova opened a nine-point advantage five minutes into the game, but St. Joe’s cut it back to one just two and a half minutes later. The ‘Cats went back up by seven with seven minutes to play in the half but found themselves up just one less than two minutes later. A 13-3 ‘Nova run over the next four minutes put the ‘Cats up 11 before the Hawks cut the lead to eight right before the break.
The lead hovered right around 10 for the early part of the second half. After ‘Nova pushed the lead to 15, St. Joe’s was able to cut it back to 10, but the ‘Cats would rip off a 17-2 run to put the Hawks away over the next five minutes and 45 seconds. From there ‘Nova would cruise to the victory.
The Wildcats shot 60.7% in the second half while holding St. Joe’s to 42.9% and just 26.7% from 3.
Wright credited the defense with helping ‘Nova create that separation in the second half. “We had a really good stretch in the second half where we defended them and that’s what created the separation,” Wright said.
Villanova had three standouts Saturday night in Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Justin Moore, and Caleb Daniels.
Right before the game, it was announced that Robinson-Earl would be wearing a mask to protect a broken nose he suffered in the Butler game on Wednesday. It didn’t seem to slow him down. Robinson-Earl finished with a game-high 25 points while adding seven rebounds and six assists. He also added a steal and block.
Wright wasn’t worried about Robinson-Earl dealing with the mask. “He went back in the game against Butler without the mask, with cotton stuffed up his nose, so you’re looking to see how does he play,” Wright said. “He played fearless, so I wasn’t worried about a mask because he finished that game with cotton up his nose and didn’t shy away from any contact.”
For Robinson-Earl, it wasn’t his first time dealing with this particular injury. “I broke my nose in eighth grade, the mask I wore today was from eighth grade so it’s one I’ve already worn before. It’s different, for sure, but I think you’re so concentrated on the task at hand it doesn’t really bother you as much as it might look.”
Robinson-Earl had the mask delivered by his mom. “My mom lives in the area,” Robinson-Earl said. “When it happened, she was like ‘oh he’s gonna need a mask.’ She’s good at remembering where she put things and she went right into a closet and she just dropped it off.”
For JRE, the experience of his freshman season is helping the game slow down for him. “I would say freshman year just kind of coming in trying to do the right thing, playing Villanova basketball and then next year you kind of have those habits a little more under your belt so I think it makes it easier going out there and just not thinking so hard,” Robinson-Earl said.
Robinson-Earl got help from Moore and Daniels. Moore had 18 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and a steal while Daniels chipped in 19 points, five rebounds, and a steal. “I’m really proud of those two,” Wright said. “As many teams do, they came after Collin. And it just opens it up for Caleb and Justin, they’re really talented guards.”
Villanova was able to exploit St. Joe’s on the offensive glass, pulling down 11 offensive rebounds and building a 12-2 advantage in second-chance points. ‘Nova had a 37-29 advantage on the glass overall. The ‘Cats also turned 15 St. Joe’s turnovers into 21 points while the Hawks managed just four points off nine Villanova turnovers. Most of those turnovers came late when the game was already decided and ‘Nova did a great job taking care of the ball, as it has all season.
Wright thought that being aggressive on the offensive glass helped Villanova slow St. Joe’s down a little bit. “They get out and run really well so if you can put some pressure on the offensive glass it can slow them down a little bit,” Wright said. “Putting some pressure on the offensive glass makes them leave some people back, even if you don’t get it at least if you’re battling for it, it’s helpful.”
'Nova will turn its attention to Marquette and a return to Big East play on Wednesday.
Stats:
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: 25p, 7r, 6a, 1s, 1b (8-14 FG, 2-5 3PT, 7-10 FT)
Jermaine Samuels: 12p, 8r, 3a (4-6 FG, 1-2 3PT, 3-3 FT)
Justin Moore: 18p, 6r, 7a, 1s (8-14 FG, 1-4 3PT, 1-1 FT)
Collin Gillespie: 7p, 3r, 2a, 1s (3-8 FG, 1-5 3PT)
Caleb Daniels: 19p, 5r, 1s (7-13 FG, 3-5 3PT, 2-2 FT)
Cole Swider: 3p, 3r, 1a, 1s (1-5 FG, 1-4 3PT)
Eric Dixon: 4p, 1r, 2a (1-4 FG, 2-2 FT)
