St. John's guard Dwight Hardy (12) and Villanova forward Isaiah...

St. John's guard Dwight Hardy (12) and Villanova forward Isaiah Armwood reach for a rebound during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game. (Feb. 26, 2011) Credit: AP

PHILADELPHIA - Let's see: St. John's to-do list at Wells Fargo Center included beating Villanova for the first time in the careers of the Red Storm's nine seniors and scoring a road win over a team currently in the national rankings.

Check and check. Oh yeah, and moving into position to clinch a double bye for the Big East Tournament. Add another check as No. 23 St. John's continued to impress by taking the measure of No. 14 Villanova, 81-68. Red Storm star Dwight Hardy, one of those seniors, continued his push for conference player of the year honors with a career-high 34 points.

It was the sixth straight win and eighth in the past nine games for the Red Storm (19-9, 11-5 Big East), which last recorded a road win over a ranked team on Jan. 17, 2002, at No. 22 Boston College. Hardy, who won the past two Big East player of the week awards, had his third career-high scoring effort in a seven-game stretch.

"He's a killer, a great player," said 'Nova star Corey Stokes, who scored 20 points and shot 7-for-11 (6-for-10 on three-pointers) but was no match for Hardy, who was 9-for-16, including 5-for-9 on threes and 11-for-13 on free throws.

St. John's coach Steve Lavin was equally impressed, saying, "I really believe it's a runaway for Big East player of the year, and it's moving into the discussion for first team All-American . . . Hardy has elevated our entire program up the Big East ladder."

St. John's and No. 5 Texas now are the only teams in the country with six wins over ranked teams. St. John's has sole possession of third place in the Big East and is assured of a double bye if it wins its remaining two games against Seton Hall and South Florida.

Hardy had plenty of help in Philadelphia from a group of teammates who are as starved for success as he is. D.J. Kennedy added 12 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals; Paris Horne scored 12, and Justin Brownlee had 11 points and eight boards. Besides Stokes' contribution, Villanova (21-8, 9-7) got 19 points from Maalik Wayns and 11 from Dominic Cheek, but the Wildcats were outrebounded 39-33.

The two biggest rebounds came after Villanova cut a St. John's lead that hit a high of 14 early down to one at 65-64 with 3:28 left when Horne was fouled. He made the first and missed the second, but Kennedy grabbed the offensive rebound, leading to two more Hardy foul shots for a 68-64 lead.

Horne returned the favor with 2:00 left after Kennedy made the first and missed the second. Horne's rebound led to a Kennedy layup and a 73-65 cushion with 1:29 left.

Senior forward Sean Evans, who is from Philadelphia and dearly wanted this win, cited those rebounds as the difference between this St. John's team and his previous three. "This year, we're tired of losing on that loose ball," Evans said. "Last year and the years before that, we miss that free throw and we don't get that rebound, we lose the game. Big players step up in big times, and that's what Paris and D.J. did."

Villanova's final shot missed with 20 seconds left, and Evans rebounded and refused to pass when Hardy called for the ball. "I looked at him and I said, 'Nah, I'm from here. I got this,' '' Evans said. "Then I brought the ball up the court and I watched the clock count down. Man, it means a lot to me because we didn't beat them before."

Hardy is more excited about what lies ahead. "We're a great team, we get after people, and when our defense is at the max, it's hard for opposing teams to score," he said. "When we're running, filling the lanes, hitting threes and getting dunks, we're a joy to watch.

"I'm just happy. I mean, we beat six [ranked] teams, but we ain't done yet."

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