VILLANOVA, Pa. _ Villanova has gotten used to building big leads and seeing them almost completely dissolve, but the second-ranked Wildcats usually have found a way to finish in the win column.
The Cats did it again Tuesday night, but it wasn't easy. They saw a 17-point advantage melt down to two against Georgetown before a 3-point basket by Josh Hart _ his first field goal of the second half _ with 1 minute, 26 seconds left helped spark a surge that gave them a 75-64 victory over the Hoyas at the Pavilion.
The Wildcats (23-2, 10-2 Big East) led by 17 in the first half en route to a 43-28 halftime advantage. They got the margin back to 17 in the second half thanks to Donte DiVincenzo, who scored nine straight points, including a layup off a steal that gave his team a 56-39 lead with 11 minutes left to play.
But the Cats struggled with their shooting, making just 5 of their first 21 in the half after shooting 63 percent in the first 20 minutes, and the Hoyas (13-12, 4-8) rallied with a 12-2 run that closed the deficit to 58-51 on a jumper from the side by Rodney Pryor.
After Darryl Reynolds converted both ends of a one-and-one for a 60-51 lead, the Hoyas ran off the next seven points, five from L.J. Peak, and Pryor's runner in the lane cut the margin to two, 60-58, with 3:50 remaining.
An exchange of free throws made it 61-59 with 2:18 to play before Villanova went on a 9-1 spurt triggered by Hart, who had missed his first seven shots of the second half. Jalen Brunson started the run with two free throws and Hart drilled a 3-pointer off a Georgetown turnover for a 66-59 lead with 1:26 remaining.
Hart's field goal was the Wildcats' first basket in 7:45.
DiVincenzo and Hart added layups for a 10-point Villanova lead, and Hart hit two free throws and a basket to help the Wildcats finish their 48th straight victory at the Pavilion.
Hart led Villanova with 25 _ 17 in the first half _ and DiVincenzo added 15. Peak scored 21 points and Pryor 20 for the Hoyas.
The Wildcats made just 3 of their first 13 shots in the second half but kept the margin at 12 or more. DiVincenzo scored seven straight points in one stretch _ four free throws, and a pretty tip-in coming from the baseline.
The Wildcats connected on 15 of their last 19 field goal attempts in the first half, and ended the period shooting 63 percent from the field. Hart deposited six shots in nine tries and led all scorers with 17 points, while Kris Jenkins added eight. Pryor led the Hoyas with nine points.
The Hoyas were involved in a bus accident on their way up Interstate 95 to Philadelphia on Monday afternoon. Reserve guard Tre Campbell was unable to play Tuesday because of injuries he suffered in the crash, and coach John Thompson III was limping noticeably on the sideline after banging his left knee.
Villanova turned the ball over on three of its first four possessions, and the Hoyas took early leads of 9-5 and 12-9. But a layup by Reynolds triggered a 10-0 run over the next 1:54 that included a conventional three-point play by Jenkins and Hart's 3-point basket.
The Wildcats scored seven straight points a short time later to increase their margin to 13, 28-15, on Brunson's 3-pointer with 7 minutes remaining. Three-point baskets by Mikal Bridges and Hart helped hike the margin to 17 on three occasions, the last time at 43-26 on a Jenkins 3-ball in the final minute of the period.
