LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – A vintage Villanova defensive effort helped lift the Wildcats past Canisius 83-56 in the opening game of the Advocare Invitational played here at HP Pavilion on Thanksgiving afternoon. The first career double-double by sophomore Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree (15 points and 13 rebounds) and 15 points by senior guard Phil Booth helped key the victory.
 
Villanova limited an explosive Canisius squad to 18-of-55 shooting on the day (.327), including 6-of-23 (.261) from beyond the arc, and forced 14 turnovers. The Cats out-rebounded the Golden Griffs 51-24 on the afternoon.
 
"Proud of our effort, "stated Wildcats head coach Jay Wright. "It was a really good defensive effort. It was also a great job on the boards, led by Dhamir. I thought he and Saddiq Bey were great defensively and on the glass in the first half when we had Phil and Eric (Paschall) in foul trouble."
 
The Wildcats (3-2 overall) were able to gain an early lead thanks for some quality work on the glass. In the game's opening sequence a Cosby-Roundtree offensive board led directly to a 3-pointer from Booth. Villanova crafted a 10-8 advantage after 5:15 of first half action.
 
A 7-0 surge fueled by strong defense helped the Wildcats extend to a 17-8 edge through 8:19 of the action. The only downside was that both starting guards – sophomore Collin Gillespie and Booth – were whistled for their second fouls.
 
A Jahvon Quinerly 3-pointer with seven minutes to play in the period helped VU build a 30-14 lead. Senior forward Paschall was then called for his second foul and the Golden Griffs sank both ends of a 1-and-1 to narrow the margin to 30-14 with five minutes left to go before halftime.
 
 "It was survival for us at that point, it really was," said Wright. "When we lost Eric we were playing without our three most experienced players. We actually extended the lead for a bit there before they got it going near the end of the half. We were using combinations of guys we don'teven  use in practice."
 
Villanova held a 38-20 lead before a 6-0 burst by the Golden Griffs (1-3 overall) in the final two minutes period meant the Wildcats took a 38-26 lead into the locker room at intermission. Cosby-Roundtree paced VU in the period with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Saddiq Bey contributed seven points and seven rebounds.
 
Perhaps the only negative came in the turnover column where the Wildcats were guilty of 11 first half miscues.
 
 "We had 11 and a lot of that was not having Phil and Collin in there," Wright noted.
 
 The Wildcats were able to limit Canisius' Isaiah Reese to two first half points. However the Golden Griffs' standout heated up early in the second half, dropping in 11 points. That narrowed the VU lead to 46-37 after 3:42 of action and brought a timeout from the Wildcats.
 
 "He can get it going and I thought we lost a little focus there for a stretch," stated Wright.
 
But a 12-2 spurt – the last points coming on a 3-pointer by Joe Cremo – helped give the Wildcats a 58-39 lead with 12:25 to play. Critical in that stretch was some excellent defensive work on the exterior by Booth, Bey and Gillespie.
 
An 8-0 response by the Golden Griffs narrowed their deficit to 63-52 with 4:23 to play in the period before a Cole Swider 3-pointer ended that burst. It was 66-52 with 3:40 to play in the period and the Wildcats never looked back. The final score was 83-56.
 
 "We didn't worry about the rankings when we were in them and we don't pay attention to them now that we aren't ranked," said Wright when asked if Villanova was eager to prove it belonged in the national polls. "But this was a good step for us."
 
Villanova advances to meet Oklahoma State, a winner in today's second game played here. Tipoff is set for 11:30 a.m. at the HP Pavilion.