Hopkins scores 20 as St. John’s takes down Villanova 86-79

By Canadian Press on January 17, 2026.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Hopkins had 20 points in St. John’s 86-79 victory over Villanova on Saturday.

Hopkins had six rebounds for the Red Storm (13-5, 6-1 Big East Conference). Ian Jackson scored 18 points, going 7 of 12 from the floor, including 1 for 4 from 3-point range, and 3 for 3 from the line. Zuby Ejiofor shot 7 for 12 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 2 of 7 from the free-throw line to finish with 17 points, while adding seven rebounds. Dillon Mitchell had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Tyler Perkins led the Wildcats (14-4, 5-2) in scoring, finishing with 23 points. Villanova also got 21 points from Devin Askew. Bryce Lindsay also had 11 points.

St. John’s took the lead for good with 10:30 to go in the first half. The score was 36-35 at halftime, with Ejiofor racking up nine points. St. John’s turned a four-point second-half lead into a 17-point advantage with a 13-0 run to make it a 56-39 lead with 14:01 left in the half. Hopkins scored 13 second-half points in the game.

Up next

Up next for St. John’s is a matchup Tuesday with Seton Hall at home. Villanova hosts Georgetown on Wednesday.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press