PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – A 16-0 scoring surge late in the first half gave No. 10 Villanova a cushion it would not relinquish on its way to a 78-54 victory over Ohio University (3-1 overall, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.
 
Sophomore Saddiq Bey (Largo, Md.)  led Villanova with 19 points on the day while freshman Justin Moore (Fort Washington, Md.) dropped in 18 points. Freshman Jermiah Robinson-Earl posted the second double-double of his three-game college career with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Villanova  (2-1 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST) drained 14 3-point field goals on the day with seven players making at least one as it bounced back from a 76-51 loss at No. 16 Ohio State on Wednesday.
 
Ben Vander Plas scored 19 points and added 10 rebounds for the Bobcats.
 
"This was a good next step for us," said Wildcats' head coach Jay Wright. "We have a lot of respect for Ohio. Jason Preston was leading the country in double-doubles. He's a scary dude. Even though he had 16 points, I thought we did a really good job on him.
 
"I was proud of our guys' defensive effort."
 
Indeed, Villanova limited the Bobcats to 3-of-20 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc on the day (.150), including 0-of-8 in the first 20 minutes. That strong perimeter defense helped the Wildcats withstand a sluggish start at the offensive end over the game's first 14 minutes. 
 
"This was a much better defensive effort today than at Ohio State, obviously," noted Wright. "We learned a lot defensively from that game. We've got young players and sometimes they just have to feel it. We still have to get a lot better but that was a good step."
 
Ohio scored the game's first five points but Villanova got 3-pointers from Bey and Robinson-Earl and a free throw from Jermaine Samuels to take a 7-5 lead after 4:28 of the first half.
 
The Wildcats slowly built the margin to 15-9 thanks to stingy defense. But the offense was harder to come by and at the 7:30 mark of the first half the lead had been reduced to 16-15. At that point, Nova had converted 5-of-18 field goals (.278) and was being outrebounded 14-10. A driving score by the Bobcats' Preston gave Ohio back the lead at 17-16.
 
Villanova came right back, however, with a 10-0 surge that was capped by a deep 3-pointer by Moore from the right side. With 4:22 left in the first half, Villanova held a 26-17 lead.
 
The flurry continued, becoming 16 straight points, as the Wildcats finished the period on an 8-of-10 shooting burst to establish a 43-21 edge at intermission. Moore set the scoring pace with 15 points over the first 20 minutes while Bey added 11 points.
 
"I was just trying to be more aggressive," said Moore. "My coaches believe in me and they don't want me to shy away. So that's what we've been working on."
 
Three-pointers from junior Collin Gillespie – who played without a protective mask for the first time this season - and Robinson-Earl in the first five minutes of the second half helped VU extend its margin to 56-28. Also important to the day's success was the multi-faceted contribution of Samuels. Despite connecting on 1-of-7 of his attempts from the field, the native of Franklin, Mass., aided the cause with eight rebounds, five assists and nine points.
 
"Jermaine's playing like a Villanova junior," said Wright. "He's playing with a lot of maturity, doing all the little things. He knows he's got a lot of young guys around him that really don't understand all those things yet. So he's kind of taken it upon himself to do those things. I thought he did the same thing at Ohio State. He battled until the bitter end."

Villanova honored alumnus William B. Finneran, VSB '63, with a moment of silence in the pregame and a floral bouquet at his courtside seat location.
 
Next up for the Wildcats is the Myrtle Beach Invitational, which begins at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the HTC Center. Villanova takes on Middle Tennessee State in the first of three games in South Carolina. The game can be seen on ESPN2 and heard via 610 ESPN Radio in the Delaware Valley  and the TuneIn app everywhere.
 
The 2019-20 season – Villanova's 100^th college basketball campaign – is presented by Hartford Funds and Coca-Cola.