NEW YORK, N.Y. –Villanova used an explosive 19-0 second half burst to catapult it past former BIG EAST rival Connecticut Saturday at Madison Square Garden in the team's final non-conference clash of the regular season. The final score was 81-58.
 
Senior forward Eric Paschall led the 'Cats with 21 points along with five rebounds and five assists. Classmate Phil Booth was perfect from the field (6-of-6) while amassing 18 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists.
 
With sophomore guard Collin Gillespie sidelined today (head injury protocol), freshman guard Jahvon Quinerly stepped forward with 10 points and four assists in 25:11.
 
"A really good effort by our guys," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "UConn is a very smart and aggressive team that can take you out of what you want to do. In the first half I thought our guys struggled with it a little bit but they kept working to break through. We got a lead and remained solid and aggressive. "
 
"We've just stuck together and are going day by day," stated Paschall of his team, which upped its record to 9-4 overall while the Huskies fell to the same record. "JQ stepped up big today and Joe (Cremo) stepped up. It was just a good team effort."
 
After falling into double digit deficits in the early stages of its last two outings against Penn and Kansas, the Wildcats grabbed the early advantage, building a 10-5 lead in the first four minutes. However, the Huskies reeled off an 8-0 run in a 2:50 stretch to claim a 15-11 lead with 11:23 to play in the first half.
 
A 7-0 burst got the Wildcats the lead back but UConn began to heat up from beyond the arc. A corner 3-pointer by Tarin Smith was the Huskies' fourth of the day and gave them a 26-22 lead with 3:49 to go before halftime.
 
Quinerly, though, gave the Wildcats a lift, sinking a 3-pointer and scoring on a drive to help Villanova forge a 30-30 tie with the Huskies at halftime.
 
Booth paced the Wildcats with 10 points and five assists. VU forced nine UConn turnovers but committed a dozen of its own.
 
Villanova's defense allowed it to slowly grind its way to a 43-36 lead through 6:22 of action in the second half. Quinerly's steal led to a Booth layup and brought on a UConn timeout.
 
The lockdown defense allowed Villanova to extend its advantage and find an offensive groove that resulted in a 51 point second half. VU drained 11 of its first 16 field goal attempts in the second half as it moved its lead to 62-40. It held the Huskies without a field goal for more than five minutes, erasing what had been a 36-35 into a 54-36 lead.
 
Quinerly's work was especially important on day when Villanova was without its third leading scorer (Gillespie).
 
"We always talk about next man up," stated Quinerly. "I was just waiting for my opportunity."
 
The freshman is from nearby Hackensack, N.J., just across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
 
"It felt good to be back in New York," he stated. "I just focused on the game really. This was a big bounce back win for us. Going into the Christmas break with a big win, it feels good."
 
There is now a pause of sorts in the season as the Wildcats break for the Christmas holiday. The squad will return to campus late next week to begin its preparations for the BIG EAST regular season, which opens for the Wildcats on Wednesday, Jan. 2 against DePaul at the Finneran Pavilion (8:30 p.m./FS1 and 610 ESPN Radio).