Cremo, Bey provide points on rough night in Garden

NEW YORK >> On a day when both Phil Booth and Eric Paschall struggled to score, Joe Cremo and Saddiq Bey stepped up to take carry some of that load.

Cremo scored 14 points, his most productive day as a Wildcat. It was the first time the 6-4 graduate transfer scored in double digits since he put up 11 points in Villanova’s

81-58 romp over Connecticut at the Garden on Dec.

22. Cremo shot 4-for-7, all from beyond the 3-point line, and had four rebounds and two assists.

Bey did most of his damage early. The 6-8 freshman scored eight of his 11 points in the first half. He shot 4-for-8 overall and 3-for-5 from deep. Two of his 3-point field goals came off assists from Collin Gillespie.

Gillespie continues to struggle with his shot. The 6-3 sophomore guard was 1-for-8 overall and 1-for-7 from 3-point range. He finished with four points.

Gillespie is shooting

15.4 percent overall (4for-26) and .052 percent

(1-for-19) from deep in the last three games and has scored just 11 points in the last three games. He had 43 points in the two games before that including a career-high 30 in the win over Georgetown.

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The loss dropped Villanova into a tie with Marquette for first place in the Big East. The Golden Eagles have the upper hand thanks to their 6665 win over the Wildcats in Milwaukee.

The rematch is Feb. 27 at the Finneran Pavilion

(9 p.m., FS1)

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NOTES >> Villanova did a masterful job on Shamorie Ponds. The Wildcats held St. John’s leading scorer to 11 points on

2-for-14 shooting from the field overall and 0-for-4 from 3-point range. It was his worst shooting day in both categories. … The Wildcats are back on the road Wednesday when they visit Georgetown. Then it’s off to Cincinnati to take on Xavier. Villanova returns for its two final home games of the season. The Wildcats take on Marquette at the Finneran Pavilion (Feb. 27) and take on Butler at the Wells Fargo Center (March 2). Villanova closes out the regular-season on the road against Seton Hall at the Prudential Center on March 9.