Recap: Villanova vs. Saint Josephs

Villanova, PA (Sports Network) - A 3-pointer by James Bell with 29.0 seconds remaining gave Villanova the lead as the Wildcats held off the Saint Joseph's Hawks, 65-61, in Big 5 action at The Pavilion.

Bell finished with 12 points for the Wildcats (6-4), matched by JayVaughn Pinkston off the bench, although the latter shot just 4-of-12 from the floor as the team registered a second straight win and the third in the last four outings.

The Hawks (5-3) were paced by Langston Galloway who posted a season-high 22 points, shooting 6-of-10 behind the three-point line, followed by Carl Jones and Ronald Roberts with 16 and 10 points, respectively, as the team bowed for the second time in three games.

A tight game throughout, the Hawks led by five points less than two minutes into the first quarter, but the team made a total of just nine field goals in the period and ended up with a 33-31 deficit at the break.

In the second half both teams shot under 38 percent from the floor, but once again the meeting remaining very close even as Villanova connected on just 2- of-10 shots from behind the three-point line in the frame.

Following the 3-pointer by Bell, the Hawks took possession and after a couple of stalled attempts were forced to inbound the ball from the corner with 3.5 seconds remaining. Unable to find a teammate in the open, Halil Kanacevic attempted to bounce the ball off Maurice Sutton who was defending, but it bounced back and struck Kanacevic while standing out of bounds, turning the ball over to the hosts who then converted a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach.

In a game that featured seven ties and 15 lead changes, the Hawks hurt themselves with just 38.3 percent shooting from the floor and 18 turnovers.