VILLANOVA, Pa. _ Things looked bleak for top-ranked Villanova on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center, with No. 12 Virginia putting a viselike hold on the Wildcats' offense and keeping Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins out of the scoring column.
But the Wildcats found a way to gut it out, roaring back from a 13-point deficit to take the lead, then matching the Cavaliers shot for shot down the stretch.
Holding the last shot of regulation, Villanova got the job done, with redshirt freshman guard Donte DiVincenzo tipping in Hart's missed shot at the buzzer to give the Cats a stirring 61-59 victory over the Cavaliers before a record crowd of 20,907 in South Philadelphia.
The Wildcats (20-2), who made only 4 of 22 shots in the first half and trailed 31-22 at the break, turned their fortunes around in the second half with 72 percent shooting. Both Hart and Jenkins did not have a field goal in the first half but contributed to the 13-0 run that brought 'Nova back into the game, giving the Cats a 50-49 lead with 5 minutes, 32 seconds remaining.
The score was later tied at 55, 57, 59, with the last Virginia points coming with 15 seconds remaining on a driving shot by freshman Ty Jerome, who led the visitors with 15 points.
After a timeout, Hart got the ball on the right wing and drove to the hoop. His shot rolled off the rim but the 6-foot-5 DiVincenzo tipped the ball as the buzzer sounded. After an officials' review, the shot was ruled good.
Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges, who each scored key buckets in the final minutes, scored 15 points each to lead Villanova. Hart added 12 points, 10 in the second half. Virginia's London Perrantes, the team's top scorer with a 12.3-point average, shot just 2 of 11 and scored four points but had six assists.
The Wildcats trailed by 45-32 after Virginia's Devon Hall knocked down a 3-pointer with 13:42 to play, and were down by 12 at the 10-minute mark before making the run that gave them their first lead since it was 2-0. More important, they received offensive contributions from Hart and Jenkins for the first time.
Eric Paschall deposited an inside shot before Hart, who had been 0 for 6 up to that point of the game, drilled a 3 from the left wing to draw 'Nova to within seven, 49-42, with 7:53 left to play.
Then Jenkins, who had been 0 for his last 15 from the field dating back to the Marquette loss, took a pass following a Virginia turnover and knocked down a 3 to continue the run, then followed with another trey 29 seconds later. Jenkins had been 0 for 6 in the game from beyond the arc before those two makes.
Brunson ended the run with a pair of free throws, and 'Nova had a 50-49 lead with 5:32 to play. Hart scored four straight points for the Cats to retain the one-point lead before Perrantes, who had been 1 of 9 from the field for the game, sank a driving bank shot to give Virginia a 55-54 advantage with 3:33 left.
Villanova finished the first half with just four field goals in 22 attempts, none coming from either Hart or Jenkins. The Wildcats were lucky to be only down nine, 31-22, thanks to 13-of-14 shooting from the free-throw line. Brunson led the Cats with nine points, including seven free throws.
Brunson sank two free throws to give Villanova its only lead of the half, 2-0, 1:07 into the game. The Cavaliers scored the next 10 points and were off and running. The Wildcats got to within two, 12-10, on two free throws by Jenkins with 10:57 left but Virginia eventually extended its lead to 10 when Perrantes' fadeaway shot in the lane with 6:42 remaining made it 22-12.
The Wildcats didn't get closer than six for the remainder of the period, and Jerome's third 3-point basket of the half gave Virginia its nine-point lead at the break. The Cavaliers shot 46.2 percent in the half, making four 3s in 10 attempts.
