Villanova 66, St. John’s 53: Mouphtaou Yarou scored 18 points as the Wildcats continued their late-season surge with a win over the Red Storm in the second round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Freshman Ryan Arcidiacono chipped in 15 points while JayVaughn Pinkston added 12 points and nine rebounds for Villanova (20-12), which won for the fifth time in seven games. The Wildcats, who shot 3-of-17 beyond the arc and committed 17 turnovers, will meet Louisville in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Phil Greene IV had 16 points to lead St. John’s (16-15), which has dropped all five games since coach Steve Lavin suspended leading scorer D’Angelo Harrison. Big East Rookie of the Year JaKarr Sampson tallied 13 points and nine rebounds.

Villanova raced out to an 18-6 lead midway through the first half behind six points from Yarou, but the Red Storm returned the favor over the next 9:11 to pull even at 24 by intermission. After an early second-half surge by St. John’s, Yarou knotted the game at 33 with a layup and Arcidiacono followed with five straight points to spark a 19-7 run that gave the Wildcats a 50-40 cushion with 8:08 left.

Greene scored five points over a 16-second span to cut the deficit in half, but his layup with 7:14 remaining proved to be the only field goal the Red Storm managed until he hit a jumper with 1:07 left. The drought allowed Villanova to regain control and stretch the lead to 14 points in the final minutes.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Arcidiacono committed a career-high eight turnovers. … Red Storm freshman F Felix Balamou suffered a left ankle sprain in the first half and did not return. … Yarou recorded a block to become the 10th player in Villanova history to record 100 in his career.