|
 On Tuesday, Wright earned his 300th win at Villanova, guiding the
eighth-ranked Wildcats to a 90-72 win over No. 24 St. John's in a
battle of two original Big East Conference teams at Madison Square
Garden.
"I just feel so blessed to be at Villanova long enough," said
Wright, who grew up in Churchville, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.
"I just love the job.
"Every coach that has been there this long wins a lot of games. It's
a great place to coach college basketball.
"I never said New York was my home," Wright added, "but I always
appreciated people counting me in the New York basketball scene."
Wright is 300-150 at Villanova. He was 122-85 at Hofstra in Long
Island, about one hour outside New York City.
Daniel Ochefu, a junior forward, scored 13 points and grabbed 13
rebounds for his third double-double in the last four games for
Villanova (14-1, 2-1 Big East).
 Guard Darrun Hilliard II paced Villanova with 21 points.
St. John's (11-4, 0-3) received 25 points from guard D'Angelo
Harrison and 14 points from guard Phil Greene IV.
The Red Storm took their last lead of the night, 54-52, with 11:55
to go, then watched as Villanova went on a 20-7 run to take a
commanding 74-59 advantage. Ochefu contributed eight points, three
rebounds, a block and two assists in the run.
"He (Ochefu) became a presence inside in the second half," Wright
said. "He works really hard. He keeps improving every day.
"Our guys look for him more. It's hard for a big guy like him to
play in a quick game like he did tonight."
A 3-pointer from forward Kris Jenkins and a dunk from Ochefu gave
the Wildcats a 68-59 edge with 7:30 to play.
The Red Storm's comeback bid was hurt when starting swingman Sir'
Dominic Pointer fouled out with 7:47 remaining, leaving St. John's
with a thin bench.
"I was just trying to help my team," Pointer admitted of the costly
foul. "In the middle of a game, you're not thinking. I was just
trying to make a play."
The Red Storm depth was provided a slight boost with the return of
sixth-man guard Rysheed Jordan, who had gone home to Philadelphia
due to the passing of his grandmother. St. John's played without
Jordan in a 73-69 loss to Butler on Jan. 3.
[to top of second column] |
Jordan entered the game ranked sixth in the conference in scoring at
14.0 points per game -- second on the team to Harrison's 20.3 -- but
failed to score in his return, going 0-for-6 from the field with two
turnovers. He scored just two points, both from the line
Villanova opened the second half on an 8-2 run, the largest burst in
the game to that point, and led 42-38. That lead was soon erased
thanks to an alley-oop dunk by Pointer from Greene that allowed the
Red Storm to move ahead 48-47 with 14:33 to go.
"Villanova played consistent for the entire 40 minutes," said St.
John's coach Steve Lavin. "That's why they are the champs of this
league and the gold standard for the Big East right now.
In the first half, I thought we did some things well. But once (Sir'
Dominic) Pointer went out they continued to separate themselves from
us because they executed at a really high level."
The Red Storm led 35-34 at halftime, with Harrison and Greene
combining for 27 points.
Neither team was able to create much of a cushion in the first half.
The lead changed six times and the score was tied on three
occasions.
St. John's assumed a 10-4 lead in the first 2:25, but the Wildcats
clawed back for a 27-21 advantage with 8:13 left in the half.
The Red Storm blocked five shots in the half.
NOTES: The Wildcats outrebounded St. John's, 41-21. ... Villanova
began the night leading the Big East in steals at 8.8 per game. They
recorded seven on Tuesday. ... St. John's ranked first in the
conference in field-goal defense at 37.8 percent, but Villanova shot
55.7 percent. ... Red Storm G D'Angelo Harrison was selected the Big
East Player of the Week twice this season. ... St. John's C Chris
Obekpa was second in the country in blocked shots with a
conference-leading 3.9 blocks a game entering Tuesday's game. He
swatted away three shots Tuesday. ... The Wildcats have defeated six
opponents by 20 points or more.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
