With 52-point bench explosion, Villanova positioned well in Big East Tournament

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NEW YORK -- Josh Hart was at his locker raving about the huge contribution made Thursday by the Villanova bench in the Wildcats' historic blowout of St. John's.

It was pointed out to him that the bench scored 52 points in Villanova's record-setting 108-67 win over the Red Storm in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.

Hart smiled broadly.

"Fifty-two points? From the bench?" he said.

"Hey, bench guys!" he yelled across the locker room at Madison Square Garden. "I see you all today!"

Then Hart reeled off the numbers

"Eric had 17, Dylan had 10, Tay had, what, 25?" Hart said. "Who else is on the bench? I think that's the bench! That's the bench!"

Villanova, which went only six deep much of this season, is a different team now.

Freshman Donte DiVincenzo ("Tay") scored a career-high 25 points, sophomore transfer Eric Paschall added 17 and rarely used freshman Dylan Painter -- playing a career-high 22 minutes with soph Mikal Bridges out with a stomach virus -- added career highs of 10 points and six rebounds.

Starters: 56 points.

Bench: 52 points.

"They played great," said Hart, Villanova's national Player of the Year candidate. "I think what really impressed us more so than the scoring was how they just played hard defensively and kept playing hard even when we got a lead.

"A lot of times when you're younger you don't understand that every possession matters. So in a game like this for a younger guy you go in (thinking), 'All right, time for me to go get some buckets now.'

"But for them, our upperclassmen set a tone: 'This is how we're going to play Villanova basketball,' and they got in and weren't worried about scoring and that's great."

No. 2 Villanova tied the Big East Tournament record for biggest margin of victory, set a school record for most points in a Big East tourney game and also recorded the largest margin of victory ever in a series against St. John's that goes back 96 years.

And they did it without high-flying Mikal Bridges, who left the game after one minute with a stomach virus and never returned.

The bench guys combined to make 16 of 18 shots from the field, 7 for 9 from three and 13 for 15 from the foul line.

"It's no surprise to us," Paschall said. "We know what each other is capable of. We see each other every day in practice, we know what we can do. We have to sacrifice our game for the better of the team, so when our opportunity comes we take advantage of it."

DiVincenzo, averaging 7.0 points per game against the rest of the world, had his third huge game this year against St. John's, following performances of 19 and 20 points with a 25-point career high on 7 for 8 from the field and 5 for 6 from three.

Paschall made six of seven shots for 17 points and added five rebounds, and Painter -- who is averaging 0.5 points per game -- contributed 10 points and six boards.

"Our philosophy is next-man-up," Painter said. "There's no dropoff when somebody goes down."

The starters did OK, too.

Kris Jenkins contributed 24 points and a season-high six assists. Jalen Brunson made five of eight shots for 14 points and added five assists, and Hart had a typical game with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

But it was the first time in at least eight years that three Villanova reserves reached double figures in scoring.

And when you have to play three games in three days to win the Big East Tournament, a deep bench really helps.

"When you have legitimately eight guys and one guy goes down, you're bringing in two good players," coach Jay Wright said.

"You could have eight bodies, but we're fortunate to have eight really good players, so you can get through a game like that. Three in a row might be tough."

When Villanova lost starting center Darryl Reynolds for five games with a rib injury down the stretch, it gave all the reserves a chance at more minutes, and Wright said that is now paying off.

"Darryl being out tired us out a little bit but it made Donte a lot better, it made Dylan a lot better and it made Eric a lot better," he said. "And they all now have the confidence to be ready for whatever they have to do."

Villanova shot 63.2 percent from the field, its best ever in a Big East Tournament game. Their previous best was 61.5 percent in a win over Boston College in 1982.

The 108 points broke the school record for scoring in the tournament by 12. The Wildcats beat Pitt 96-63 in overtime in 1998.

And the 41-point margin of victory tied the conference tournament record set by Syracuse in a 96-55 win over Boston College in 1999.

Villanova, now 29-3, will face No. 5 seed Seton Hall at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.  

And they'll do it with a lot more than just five players.

"The bench playing like that is huge for us," Jenkins said. "It's huge for us. Because we have eight guys who can play, they're all threats, and they pick up the energy defensively and rebounding.

"That's what Villanova basketball is all about: making sacrifices, giving yourself up for the betterment of the team. We've all done it. Those guys could all start (at other schools).

"When you come here you're going to be a part of great teams. Great players sacrifice."

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