VILLANOVA, Pa. – Saint Joseph's Taylor Funk and Jordan Hall finished with 17 points apiece, but the Hawks' hard-fought effort fell short as #7 Villanova topped SJU, 88-68, Saturday evening at Finneran Pavilion.

How It Happened
• After trading three-pointers to start the contest, Villanova pushed ahead 14-5 behind a jumper by Justin Moore at the 14:56 mark.
• Saint Joseph's fought back with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes as a three-pointer by Funk gave the Hawks their first lead, 15-14.
• Villanova retook the lead and extended it to 30-25 before a three-pointer by Hall got the Hawks to within 30-28.
• The Wildcats' responded to the Hall basket with a 9-0 run as a layup by Jermaine Samuels made it 39-28 with 1:12 to go in the half.
• Saint Joseph's ended the half with a flurry as the Hawks scored five of the final seven points of the period, with a three-point play by Ryan Daly making it a 41-33 contest at the half.
• Hall's second three-pointer of the night got SJU to within 46-39 early in the second half, but the Hawks would get no closer as the Wildcats pushed their lead back to double digits.

Inside The Boxscore
• Hall finished with a team-best six assists and six rebounds to go with a season-high 17 points.
• Funk ended the game 5-11 from the floor, 4-8 from three-point range and 3-4 from the line.
• Daly was the third Hawk in double figures, finishing with 11 points and adding five rebounds.
• As a team, Saint Joseph's went 25-56 from the field (44.6 percent), 10-32 from three-point range (31.3 percent) and 8-9 from the foul line.
• The Hawks started the game just 2-7 from the field, but went 11-21 from their over the final 15:21 of the period.
• From the floor, Villanova went 32-64 overall, 9-25 from behind the arc and 15-18 from the line (83.3 percent).
• The Wildcats turned the ball over nine times and caused 15 SJU turnovers, leading to 21 points.
• Saint Joseph's moves to 25-53 all-time against Villanova.
• The Hawks are now 45-140 all-time versus ranked opponents.

Next Up
Saint Joseph's (0-4) faces its second consecutive ranked opponent as the Hawks travel to #10 Tennessee on Monday. Game time is set for 6 p.m. ET and will be televised on the SEC Network.

Follow the Saint Joseph's men's basketball team on Instagram and Twitter and like the Hawks on Facebook.