The Wildcats made two late pushes, but the Hawks had an answer for every run. Saint Joseph’s handed Villanova its fourth straight loss to a Big 5 opponent.
The Villanova Wildcats made two second-half pushes to try and salvage the game, but rival Saint Joseph’s had an answer for every Villanova run.
The Wildcats overcame a double-digit second-half deficit and even led, for just a moment, but they were unable to complete the comeback. The Hawks fended off the ‘Cats to win, 83-76, on Tuesday.
“We couldn’t get stops at some key moments. I thought they played harder than us, so hat’s off to them. They earned that victory.
“They got into us, their pressure affected us. They got us a little out of sync. Defensively, they came after us. We got to get the ball moving a little bit more, share the ball a little more. … We just have to do what we do. That’s what a team like that is trying to get you to do, not be able to make those extra passes. They did what they did defensively better than we did what we did offensively. We just got to get better.”
Saint Joseph’s celebrated its first win at Hagan Arena over Villanova since 2011. The game also marked Villanova’s fourth-straight loss to a Big 5 opponent.
Since taking over as the Wildcats’ head coach, Kyle Neptune is now 3-5 all-time against Big 5 teams.
“It’s a team approach, all our guys, we talk about every single game being our Super Bowl no matter what,” Neptune said. “Big 5 is obviously a big rivalry between all the schools. We know it takes on extra meaning, especially for fans and schools in general, but for us, every game that we go into it’s, this is our Super Bowl and our biggest game of the year.”
It was a closely-contested battle for a most of the game, until the Hawks rattled off a 15-0 run midway through the second half.
Rasheer Fleming had a dunk to spark a 15-0 run, and Erik Reynolds started to heat up after a slow start to the game to keep things going. A pair of Fleming free throws ended the run and gave Saint Joseph’s a 53-42 lead, with 13:49 remaining in the game.
Villanova didn’t go away quietly, though. Eric Dixon ignited a 16-4 Wildcat run to close the gap. Wooga Poplar finished the surge by scoring seven straight points for the ‘Cats, including a basket to regain the lead and give Villanova a 60-59 lead, with 6:38 left.
“Obviously, we didn’t get the result we wanted, but we had plenty of chances to lay down and fold, but we came back and we fought, fought, and fought,” Dixon said of bright spots in Villanova’s up-and-down start. “At the end of all of it, it’s all you can ask for, so I really like that about us.”
Xzayvier Brown struggled for a good chunk of the game, but he found his scoring touch in the closing minutes of the game, helping the Hawks storm back in front.
Villanova rallied once again and even made it a one-possession game, but untimely turnovers, missed shots and defensive lapses prevented them from overtaking the Hawks. The Wildcats gave up two wide-open dunks to Fleming over the final minute, who helped seal the victory for the Hawks.
Dixon led the ‘Cats once again. He posted a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds. Jhamir Brickus also impressed offensively, adding 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Wooga Poplar had 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting, with eight boards and three steals. Jordan Longino finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The Wildcats shot 27-of-66 (40.9%) overall and 8-of-23 (34.8%) from long range. Turnovers were an issue once again. The Wildcats gave up 16 turnovers in the loss.
Villanova held a narrow 37-36 halftime lead, after Dixon and Brown traded threes in the final seconds of the first half.
As for the Hawks, Fleming overcame early foul trouble and had a team-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, with two blocks.
“He’s just a highly versatile player,” said Neptune about Fleming’s effectiveness on Tuesday night. “He’s a guy that can do literally everything on the floor, catch, shoot, drive it, he gets rebounds. … Anytime you got a guy who can do all that, with that size, he’s formidable.”
Brown had 18 points, six rebounds and 13 assists. Derek Simpson chipped in 6 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal and a block. Anthony Finkley went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc en route to a 12-point game. Justice Ajogbor added three blocks.
St. Joe’s shot 26-of-60 (43.3%) and 9-for-27 (33.3%) from three-point range.
The Wildcats drop to 2-2 overall. They return to action on Friday night against Virginia in the Hall of Fame Series. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.