Donte DiVincenzo’s Arrival Gives Villanova Yet Another Weapon

By MIKE McCURRY

NEW YORK — Villanova redshirt freshman Donte DiVincenzo was unable to participate in any of the Wildcats’ four games at Madison Square Garden last season, as a broken right foot signaled the end to his year after just eight contests.

On Saturday, the 6-foot-5 guard made up for lost time, scoring a game-high and career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting in his first collegiate game at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” as No. 3 Villanova defeated St. John’s, 70-57.

In doing so, DiVincenzo not only put the finishing touches on a terrific personal week, but also received the utmost compliment imaginable from head coach Jay Wright, who compared his indispensable reserve to his All-American.

“I think he can be a Josh Hart,” said Wright of DiVincenzo. “I really do. And I’ve talked to [Donte] about that before.”

When likening DiVincenzo to Hart, Wright probably wasn’t alluding to Saturday’s version of the National Player of the Year frontrunner.

Hart was held in check by St. John’s Malik Ellison, posting a season-low 11 points on a 4-of-13 showing from the field.