WASHINGTON _ Villanova came out right away as if it wanted to prove that it deserved at least a share of the Big East championship, scoring 14 straight points right after the opening tip Saturday against Georgetown.
But a college basketball game is longer than the 3 minutes, 45 seconds it took the Wildcats to score the first 14, and they had to battle the undermanned Hoyas for much of the remainder of the game.
The 14th-ranked Cats played poorly on offense in the second half, but got the break they needed on Jermaine Samuels' conventional three-point play with 5.6 seconds to play _ with the basket ruled goal-tending on video review _ to capture a 70-69 victory over the plucky Hoyas.
The victory assured Villanova (24-7, 13-5) of a No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big East Tournament. The Wildcats earned a share of the conference title after Creighton beat Seton Hall later in the day, 77-60.
The Wildcats used a 14-0 run at the start of the game to lead by as many as 17 in the first half, but the Hoyas (15-16, 5-13) cut the deficit to 39-30 by halftime, then took their first lead of the game after scoring 11 unanswered points in the opening 2:35 of the second half.
Villanova turned the game around in its favor with a 9-0 run that re-established its lead at 52-45 on five straight points by Saddiq Bey, including two free throws with 11:54 to play but the Hoyas came back with a 10-2 spurt of their own and regained the advantage at 55-54 on Terrell Allen's runner with 8:45 to play.
The Hoyas later rode a 7-0 run to take a 65-61 lead with 2:13 to play, and a 3-pointer by Allen made it 69-65 with 1 minute left. But Jeremiah Robinson-Earl made a layup and later stole the ball to set up Samuels' drive from the left side that was ruled good, leading to the winning points.
Allen missed a driving shot at the buzzer.
Villanova led 26-9 in the first half on Samuels' 3-point basket with 11:11 left in the half. From that point on, however, it was a contest. A 12-2 run that included nine consecutive points brought Georgetown back in the game at 28-21 with 7:36 to play. Jahvon Blair's runner in the lane reduced the deficit to six, 33-27, before Justin Moore and Collin Gillespie hit back-to-back 3s for 'Nova.
The Hoyas played without their top two scorers, center Omer Yurtseven (ankle injury) and Mac McClung (foot injury). Their starting five played all but 10 minutes, with Allen and Jahvon Blair on the floor for all 40 minutes.
Bey had to sit out the final 6:21 of the first half after picking up his second personal foul but came back in the second half to score 11 of his 18 points. The rest of the Villanova starters scored in double figures with Samuels and Robinson-Earl finishing with 13 points each, and Gillespie and Moore scoring 11 apiece.
Jamorko Pickett led the Hoyas with 20 points and Allen added 17. Georgetown found its way into the paint at will, outscoring Villanova 34-20, with Allen and Jagan Mosely slashing in for points.
