HARTFORD, Conn. _ For the first game of the defense of its national championship, Villanova had to play at the snail's pace of St. Mary's, a tempo that had led the Gaels to an upset victory over top-ranked Gonzaga in their most recent meeting prior to Thursday night.
But the Wildcats handled the slow tempo well enough behind the play of their two seniors. Phil Booth scored 20 points and added six assists, and Eric Paschall contributed 14 points to lift the Wildcats to a 61-57 victory over St. Mary's at XL Center.
The Wildcats (26-9) advanced to a second-round matchup against the winner of Thursday night's first-round game between Purdue and Old Dominion.
The Cats didn't make it easy on themselves. Leading 61-53 on Jermaine Samuels' dunk with one minute to play, they had a chance to put the game away but Paschall twice missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts scored baskets to make it a four-point game with 22.7 seconds to play.
But Fitts missed a 3-point try and Ford turned it over on the last possession by the Gaels (22-12).
Samuels added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats, who shot 49 percent from the field. Ford and Fitts each led St. Mary's with 13.
The Wildcats held an eight-point lead at 50-42 before the Gaels ran off five straight, including a 3-pointer by Tommy Kuhse, to trim the deficit to three with just under 6 minutes remaining.
But Booth banked in a 3-point shot, his first long-range basket of the night. He also deposited two free throws and lobbed a pass that Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree slammed home for a 57-49 lead with 2:23 remaining.
After Fitts scored for St. Mary's, Samuels had a 3-point try blocked, grabbed the rebound and made a layup to restore the eight-point margin at the 1:21 mark.
The Wildcats trailed 30-28 at halftime but came out smoking in the second half, knocking down five of their first six shots and outscoring St. Mary's 12-3 to take a 40-33 lead on Samuels' hammer dunk with 16:28 left in second half.
Villanova's margin reached seven on three more occasions, the last at 47-40 on Cosby-Roundtree's follow-up basket with 1:36 left to play. The Wildcats went the next 3:53 without scoring but the Gaels missed six straight shots.
Paschall's 3-point basket broke the 'Nova drought and gave his team its largest lead at eight, 50-42, with 7:43 remaining. But St. Mary's scored the next five points, and Kuhse's 3-point basket made it a three-point margin.
The Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field in the first half but trailed the Gaels 30-28 at the break. St. Mary's knocked down five 3-point baskets to four for 'Nova and held a 17-13 rebounding edge, grabbing six offensive rebounds to 'Nova's zero. The Gaels had five second-chance points.
Booth led Villanova with eight points but did not attempt a 3-point shot.
The Wildcats got off to a fast start, sinking their first three shots, including 3-point baskets by Samuels and Bey, to take an 8-2 lead a little more than two minutes in. But they hit just one of their next eight and St. Mary's used an 11-3 run to take its first lead at 13-11 with 11:04 left.
Villanova responded by going on a 6-of-7 shooting tear, regaining a margin that reached four points. But after Booth's short pull-up jumper for a 25-23 lead, the Cats went more than four minutes without scoring. St. Mary's scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer by Kuhse, and led 28-25 with 1:43 remaining.
Samuels answered with a 3-ball for 'Nova but Fitts sank an 18-footer from the baseline to allow the Gaels to enter the halftime locker room with the lead.
