’Cats a little weak in tough triumph over St. John’s

RADNOR » It was only fitting that Kyle Lowry was on hand to see Villanova grind out a 70-61 victory over St. John’s Wednesday night at the Pavilion.

During his time on the Main Line, Lowry was always at his best when things got tough. It’s a trait that has served him well during a 14-year NBA career in which he helped the Toronto Raptors win a NBA title, won an Olympic gold medal and has been named to all-star teams six times.

Meanwhile, the 12thranked Wildcats (22-6 overall, 11-6 Big East) are still learning how to put teams away.

Villanova led by double digits on three occasions, yet still needed a 16-5 run in the second half to extend its winning streak to five games and foil the upset bid by the Red Storm (1414, 3-12).

“I know it was ugly, but that’s what they do,” head coach Jay Wright said. “… They’re in the top five in the country in turning teams over and you know that’s what it’s going to be. It’s just what they do. No matter how hard you try, they’re good at it. This league is good. We survive, learn from it and move on.”

Lowry was on hand to have his jersey retired at halftime, the fourth Wildcat to be so honored this season. He was flanked by former teammates Randy Foye, Allan Ray and Mike Nardi, along with sons Karter and Kameron, during a halftime ceremony that Lowry called “a once in a lifetime” experience.

The Wildcats could have used some of Lowry’s trademark tenacity Wednesday night. The Red Storm hounded them at every turn and took guard Collin Gillespie out of the mix offensively. Gillespie finished with eight points on 2-for12 shooting overall and 0-for-7 from 3-point range. He has missed his last 13 triples and limped off the court with 4:42 to play in the game and did not return.

“I don’t know how serious it is,” Wright said of Gillespie. “He was hobbling and we took him out. I asked him if he was OK and of course he said, yes, but he was hobbling. As we increased the lead I didn’t want to put him back in there. He says he’s OK, but he was obviously hobbling out there.”

With Gillespie struggling throughout, someone had to pick up the offensive slack. Sophomore forward Saddiq Bey and freshman guard Justin Moore did so nicely.

Bey scored 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out three assists and was used often to beat St. John’s full pressure.

“They’re quick and they’re relentless,” Bey said. “They stay aggressive the entire time. That what makes them a good defensive team.”

Bey took some of the steam out of St. John’s defensive pressure by hitting 7 of 14 shots overall and 4 of 8 from 3-point range.

Moore was big, too. He shot 8-for-11 overall and 5-for-7 from 3-point land to finish with 21 points.

“I think my teammates found me in the right spots and just being aggressive, listening to coach and my support staff and team and being aggressive and trying to make the right plays,” Moore said.