St. Joe’s earns massive road upset of No. 18 Villanova to vault into Big 5 Classic championship

St. Joe’s hadn’t won at the Finneran Pavilion since 10 months before guard Xzayvier Brown was born.

On Wednesday night, four days before Brown’s 19th birthday, the Hawks snapped that streak. The freshman was a big reason why.

St. Joe’s beat No. 18 Villanova, 78-65, to snap an 11-game Villanova win streak in the rivalry. The Wildcats had won 17 of the last 19 matchups, dating back to 2004. With the win, the Hawks advanced to the Big 5 championship game. The loss means the Wildcats have now lost multiple Big 5 games in a season for the first time since 2012-2013.

“I’m just lucky to be a part of this team,” Brown said. “I feel like we just had a lot of confidence. I didn’t even know that was the last time they won [here]. But I knew when I decided to come to St. Joe’s, I wanted to play the Big 5 and get wins.”

Hawks guard Erik Reynolds II was the leading scorer with 24, including 14 in the first half. Brown added 16, while junior guard Lynn Greer scored 15 and added seven assists.

Villanova’s Justin Moore led the Wildcats with 17. In the second half, Moore scored his 1,500th point at Villanova. Redshirt senior forward Eric Dixon scored 14 for Villanova, with six coming on free throws. Junior guard Jordan Longino added eight.

After its win over Penn, the St. Joe’s student section chanted, “We want ’Nova.” Before tipoff, Villanova’s students pulled out two rollouts. One read “Decades of Domination.” The other mocked St. Joe’s cheer, asking, “You sure about that?”

Minutes in, it was clear: the Hawks were sure.

St Joe’s forced five Villanova turnovers in the first six minutes to take an early lead. The Hawks relied on a zone defense to unsettle the Wildcats. They forced 17 Villanova turnovers, tied for the season-high for the Wildcats, and held Villanova to 27% three-point shooting.

“So much of what is determined as being effective or smart is based on the result, right? So if they made a couple of those shots, humbly, it might not have been the smartest move,” said St. Joe’s coach Billy Lange. “When you’re scoring, it helps you set the zone up and it puts pressure [on the opponent].”

Lange said playing zone was a result of being “desperate” and missing starting center Christ Essandoko, who was out with a toe sprain. However, zone defenses have stymied Villanova’s offense this season, notably against Le Moyne and the loss at Penn.

On offense, the tandem of Reynolds, Brown, and Greer was lethal. Each shot over 50% from the field. The Wildcats never had an answer for one of the guards, let alone all three.

“They played great together, moving the ball, executing their plays and making tough shots,” Moore said.

The Wildcats forced a few St. Joe’s turnovers to cut the lead to seven midway through the second half, but Brown and Reynolds hit consecutive threes to extend the lead. Villanova never got within ten again.

In the waning moments, a spirited squad of St. Joe’s students cheered as Villanova fans streamed out of the arena. Villanova’s student section never unveiled another rollout.

Villanova bore little resemblance to the team that had won four straight, including the championship at the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Wildcats shot over 50% in the first half, but the defense that had stifled Memphis in the title game seemed to be left in the Bahamas.

Meanwhile, St. Joe’s looked every bit like the team that nearly upset No. 16 Kentucky at Rupp Arena nine days ago. The Hawks out-hustled, out-shot, and simply out-played Villanova, showing that high preseason expectations on Hawk Hill weren’t just hype.

Before the game, Villanova renamed the road between the Finneran Pavilion and Davis Center, its basketball practice facility, Wright Way in honor of former head coach Jay Wright. Wright spoke at the ceremony and unveiled a “Wright Way” sign with his wife, Patty.

St. Joe’s advanced to the Big 5 championship and will play Temple at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Wells Fargo Center. It sent Villanova to the earliest game of the triple header, as it will face Drexel at 2 p.m.