(PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. JOHN’S ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – BRENDAN WILLISCH)
A strong rally by Aaron Wheeler and the St. John’s Red Storm (13-10, 5-7 Big East) wasn’t enough against the No. 15/15 Villanova Wildcats (18-6, 11-3 Big East) as they fell 75-69 inside Madison Square Garden on a late Tuesday tip-off.
Injuries plagued the Red Storm to start the contest, as sophomore guard Posh Alexander didn’t suit up due to an ankle injury. Alexander was seen in a walking boot during the pregame warmups.
Expectations for Villanova were to compete without guards Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore, but those two were able to take pregame warmups and work their way into the lineup.
Starting with porous numbers from distance were the Wildcats, who would string off a deep three from Eric Dixon to get things off and running. But the star of the show is, Aaron Wheeler had other ideas, as he countered right back.
In the first few minutes of the game, the Johnnies were struggling from the field as a whole. They had already taken eight shots from distance, landing just a pair—one from Wheeler and Dylan Addae-Wusu. Following the latter’s trey, the Wildcats went on its first 6-0 run of the game.
For much of the evening, Villanova would dominate play, as the Red Storm could not get anything going on the offensive side of the ball. They were also outnumbered in the paint in the first half by a wide margin (20-8)
The Johnnies converted just 10-of-34 from the field throughout the first half, thanks mainly to Wheeler netting half the teams’ shots from the field. He was the lone bright spot in the contest.
Villanova themselves couldn’t get anything going in the first half, as they were just 2-of-10 from distance, which is typically its bread and butter—mainly missing out on the offensive impact from graduate guard Collin Gillespie, who grabbed seven rebounds and missed the two shots he took from the floor in the first 20.
Later in the first half, things got a bit chippy but also troublesome for the Red Storm, as star forward Julian Champagnie found a lane on the dribble drive, but coming up in defense was Villanova’s Justin Moore, who nearly blocked the Champagnie shot.
That wasn’t all.
Champagnie hit the deck very hard, where he was slow to get back to his feet.
St. John’s would come to Champagnie’s aide and turn on the jets in the final 90 seconds of the first stanza, where Jermaine Samuels missed a triple attempt on the near side corner, then Wheeler followed up with a booming three from the right elbow on the opposite end.
The second half featured more Villanova and more Aaron Wheeler showing out inside Madison Square Garden to the point of single-handily bringing the Red Storm back against the 15th ranked team in the country.
Not much of a game plan out of the locker room for the Johnnies, as they started 0-for-4 from the floor, while Villanova kept adding on points with no response from the home team. Eventually, Jay Wright and the Wildcats had a double-digit lead and a 13-3 run in a 4:45 span at the halfway mark of the latter stanza.
Struggles continued for Rutgers transfer Montez Mathis, who sank home his first bucket 12 minutes into the second half after shooting 0-for-11 from the floor up to that point.
With roughly five minutes left in regulation, the game was all but over. St. John’s would eventually fall in another quadrant one opportunity.
Caleb Daniels would put up a pair of three’s, which, the latter, turned out to be the dagger.
Or did it?
Mike Anderson would call timeout following the second triple from Daniels.
The tide changed utterly, and the Johnnies woke up.
For Posh Alexander, and for Montez Mathis was Stef Smith, who secured six straight points. In Villanova’s eventual response, they turned the ball over three times in one minute, leading to the Red Storm securing points and picking away at its opponent’s lead.
Then, Aaron Wheeler continued his career night, where he made a fadeaway jumper to put the Red Storm on an 8-0 run. Wright would call a timeout and chat with his squad.
Wheeler said NOPE ✋
What a night he's having for @StJohnsBBall pic.twitter.com/WooDyrh2si
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 9, 2022
The Johnnies made it within three points, following a pair of Wheeler triples, a trip to the free-throw line, and a steal from Mathis, which equaled eight points from the big man. One final attempt from Tareq Coburn off an inbound was a missed triple.
The game would come to an end on the opposite end of the floor with a pair of made Jermaine Samuels’ free throws to extend the lead to more than two possessions and out of reach for St. John’s.
Unreal effort by @_AaronWheeler_ tonight at The Garden as the Johnnies’ comeback fell just short.
Career-high 31 points, seven boards and a pair of blocks for the grad student. pic.twitter.com/mpxywLGn6C
— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) February 9, 2022
St. John’s would finish the game on a 23-6 run after Villanova led by as much as 20 points with just four and a half minutes left in regulation.
Things get a bit foggy for the Red Storm as it heads into its next contest against the University of Connecticut, with the statuses of its star pair uncertain. Julian Champagnie was in and out of the competition with a jammed finger, followed by the hard fall on his hip before halftime.
Aaron Wheeler finished the night with 31 points, which set a new collegiate career-high, grabbed seven rebounds. In addition, Wheeler converted six-of-10 from distance and 11-of-17 from the floor. He also contributed a pair of blocks.
Only Champagnie and Smith combined for 24 points and put up double-digit scoring figures (12 each) for the Red Storm.
On the side of Villanova, Brandon Slater notched 15, Samuels tallied 13, Eric Dixon grabbed 16 and converted 7-of-9 from the floor. Justin Moore and Caleb Daniels also tallied double-figures. Gillespie didn’t score in the contest but grabbed ten rebounds.
The Johnnies were able to capitalize off Villanova’s turnovers, as they secured 22 points from the Wildcats’ 16 miscues, but the Wildcats were most dominant in the paint, which isn’t always their strong suit, as they finished with 40 points down low, compared to the Red Storm’s 22.
St. John’s will return to action on Sunday, February 13, when they welcome No. 24 UConn to Madison Square Garden for a noon matinee, which was also signal its last home game of the 2021-22 season at The World’s Most Famous Arena, before the Big East Tournament in March.
