Wright earns 300th win as No. 8 Villanova defeats No. 24 St. John’s

NEW YORK — Villanova coach Jay Wright considers himself a “Philly guy,” but New York City has always been good to him.

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.

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