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Post Game Quotes

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- A strong closing kick over the final 10 minutes on Thursday afternoon lifted the No. 1 seeded Villanova Wildcats past the No. 8 seeded Georgetown Hoyas 81-67 in a BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep Brand quarterfinal game at Madison Square Garden.

The Wildcats (28-4 overall) advance to the tournament semifinal Friday night to face No. 4 seed Providence, which defeated Butler in the second quarterfinal played Thursday.

Junior Josh Hart led Villanova with 25 points while classmate Kris Jenkins added 15 points. Senior Ryan Arcidiacono chipped in with 19 points, including some huge 3-point baskets in the second half that helped the Wildcats pull away after holding a 48-47 lead with 10:12 left on the clock at the Garden.

L.J. Peak led Georgetown (15-18 overall) with 18 points..

This victory registered a pair of firsts for Villanova, which had never previously defeated Georgetown in the BIG EAST Tournament (0-5 entering today) and had not downed the Hoyas three times in a single season.

"That was a very good win for us," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "I'm very pleased with our team.

"That Georgetown team is a very good team. Played a great game last night (against DePaul) and played very well again today. They have not quit on John (Thompson III) all year, and they've had tons of injuries. They're young. That is going to be a good team next year. They've stuck together to the end, and that's why I told our guys, these guys are good. Doesn't matter what their record is. They played that way today."

The contest was a nip and tuck duel for the better part of 30 minutes. The Hoyas used an outstanding rebounding effort in the first half to grab a 27-25 advantage in the final minute of the period before a Jenkins' 3-pointer with eight seconds to play in the period allowed Villanova to take a 28-27 lead into halftime.

Georgetown out-rebounded the Wildcats 25-12 in those 20 minutes but the Wildcats were able to offset this with crisp shooting from distance -- 6-of-12 in the first half and 13-of-21 on the day (.619).

Neither unit attempted a first half free throw, a point that was mentioned to his team by the Villanova coach at intermission.

"I thought in the first half they were very physical," Wright noted. "Both teams were. Neither team got to the foul line. But we weren't playing through their physicality. We were driving the ball and they were kind of pushing us off our line and we were throwing shots up rather than being strong. We did, we talked about that at halftime. It was important. Getting to the foul line was important."

Villanova would visit the foul line 25 times in the second half and converted 20 of those bids (.800). It also didn't hurt that the Wildcats found a groove from deep, with Arcidiacono leading the way by sinking 5-of-7 attempts, including a pull-up dagger on a fast break that extended the VU lead to 51-47 with 9:30 to play.

"I think it was out in transition," state Arcidiacono, who now has 1,489 career points. "I know I'm not going to finish at the rim. I know I'll pass that anytime I'm close to the lane, I'll give it to Josh or Phil (Booth) or any of the other guys. I didn't think we had numbers, but Coach (Wright) always tells me to be aggressive. We do that in practice.

"If I'm out in transition, I'm pretty much the only one who pulls up. That was just a product of us getting out. I think we got -- like a couple of stops is where it really turned in and I was able to get those open looks from three."

Junior Darryl Reynolds also played a key role in the win, collecting a team high nine rebounds to go with four blocked shots while spelling Daniel Ochefu, who was limited to 13 minutes by a sprained right ankle.

The victory sets up a third meeting with Providence. The Friars knocked off the Wildcats 82-76 in overtime on Jan. 24 at the Wells Fargo Center as Ben Bentil scored 31 points. Villanova returned the favor with a 72-60 win on Feb. 6 at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Feb. 6.

The game tips at 6:30 p.m. and airs on FS1 and 610 Sports Radio WTEL.

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