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WASHINGTON, D.C. ââ'¬" The top ranked Villanova Wildcats put together one of their most complete efforts of the season as they rolled past Georgetown 88-56 in a BIG EAST clash at Capital One Arena. The Wildcats led by as many as 42 points in the second half.

It was the Wildcats' (17-1 overall, 5-1 BIG EAST) largest margin of victory ever over Georgetown (12-6 overall, 2-5 BIG EAST).

Junior guard Jalen Brunson led VU with 18 points while adding seven assists. Redshirt junior Mikal Bridges chipped in with 17 points in 18 minutes while redshirt freshman Omari Spellman contributed 14 points.

VU limited Georgetown to .393 shooting for the night. The Hoyas were just 4-of-15 (.267) and two of those came in the final five minutes when the outcome was no longer in doubt.

"I definitely feel like it was one of our better defensive performances," stated junior Eric Paschall, who chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds along with stellar work inside against the Hoyas. "We've been working on it a lot in practice. I feel like this was a great effort looking out for each other and communicating."<>< added="" head="" coach="">Jay Wright: "It was just one of those nights when we were making shots. We ran into it at Butler. With the 3-point line, when a team gets it going, there's not a lot you can do."

Villanova was 17-of-33 from beyond the arc (.515).

Consecutive 3-pointers by Phil Booth (12 points, six assists) and Paschall helped stake the Wildcats to an 8-2 lead after 4:29 of action in the first half. Georgetown narrowed the gap to 13-8 before the Wildcats reeled off an 18-0 run sparked by 3-pointers from Booth, Brunson, and Spellman to craft a 31-8 margin with 7:32 to play before halftime.

The Wildcats were outscored 12-11 for the balance of the half but still took a 42-20 advantage into the locker room. Booth and redshirt sophomore Donte DiVincenzo both had 10 points as VU dropped in 10 3-point field goals in the period.

The larger story was Villanova's strong work at the defensive end. It limited the Hoyas to 8-of-26 shooting in the period and just 20 points ââ'¬" the fewest it has allowed in a half this season. The Wildcats also did a good job on the backboards, collecting 18 caroms to the Hoyas' 16.

Villanova lost none of its momentum at halftime. It used a 15-2 burst over the first 4:37 of the second half to extend its advantage to 57-22. Georgetown converted just 1-of-5 attempts from the field in the stretch and added three turnovers. To that point, VU owned a 23-2 edge in points scored off of turnovers.

Freshman guard Collin Gillespie returned to the Wildcats' lineup after missing eight games due to a broken bone in his left hand suffered in practice prior to Villanova's 77-68 victory over La Salle on Dec. 10. He logged 15 minutes, contributing two points and three rebounds.

"Because we had Collin back we were able to press more than we had been," stated Wright. "We didn't want to use him too much in his first game back."

On Saturday, Villanova travels north to meet former BIG EAST rival Connecticut at noon in Hartford. That game will be nationally televised on CBS.

The 2017-18 Villanova Basketball season is presented by KeyBank.