CONWAY, S.C. – A 16-0 spurt in the first half helped power No. 17/15 Villanova to an 83-76 victory over Mississippi State (5-1 overall, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) Friday in the first semifinal of the Myrtle Beach Invitational at the HTC Center. The Wildcats (4-1 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST) advance to the final of a November tournament for the seventh consecutive season.
 
Freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl led the Wildcats with 22 points while also grabbing seven caroms. Junior guard Collin Gillespie turned in his second straight strong outing with 18 points and nine assists while sophomore Saddiq Bey added 17 points and junior Jermaine Samuels contributed 14 points.
 
Villanova held a 34-32 edge on the glass over the Ben Howland led Bulldogs, a group that outrebounded Tulane by 25 in its opening game here Thursday.
 
"That was a really good college basketball game," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "They're good. I would like to say I like competing against Ben's teams, but I don't. They're so physical and solid, go to the offensive glass and defend. Because we have so much respect for them, it's a really good win for us. I think they're an NCAA Tournament team. They're tough to score on.
 
"We've gotten gradually better since the Ohio State game. We knew today that gradually wasn't going to do it. These guys are so tough that we were going to have to execute better and be more solid on the boards, and defensively. We were. We took a solid step today. We still have a long way to go."
 
Mississippi State grabbed the early lead. The Bulldogs scored six points in the paint in the game's first five minutes and it pushed them to an 11-7 lead at the first official timeout of the contest.
 
Gillespie, who helped the 'Cats get off to a fast start in Thursday's victory over Middle Tennessee State by scoring the game's first eight points in 55 seconds, provided another offensive jolt. The junior from Archbishop Wood High School scored 11 points in the early minutes to push Villanova in front at 14-11.
 
"I take pride in just being a leader for this team," stated Gillespie. "I was just finding little things to get our guys going. On the defensive end, it's locking into the scouting report and setting a tone."
 
The Bulldogs responded, though, outscoring Nova 11-4 over the game's next five minutes to claim a 22-18 advantage midway through the first half.
 
That's when the tenor of the game changed.
 
A flurry more than three minutes ignited the 'Cats. Villanova reeled off 16 straight points to take a 34-22 lead with just more than four minutes remaining in the first half.
 
"We got stops and, when you can do that, you don't have to go against their set defense," said Wright. "When they get set with their size, it's hard to get good looks. They're very well coached and disciplined. When we got into transition, we got some easy buckets, open threes and a couple of dunks. That all came off of our defense."
 
Mississippi State responded with a burst of its own, scoring six straight to shave its deficit to 34-28. But for the second time in as many days, the Wildcats closed the half with a smooth final possession that produced a 3-pointer. With 2.2 seconds on the clock, Saddiq Bey fired a ¾ court pass from under his own basket to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. The freshman grabbed the ball and sent it in one motion to Gillespie, who drained a 3-pointer from the left corner.
 
"Sometimes it works in practice," noted Wright. "It's all about having a player that will go get it. It wasn't a great pass. Jeremiah just went and got it – a heck of a play. Collin hit a tough shot because they were there. We'll take a little luck on that one."
 
That gave Villanova a 42-33 lead after 20 minutes. The Wildcats were 16-of-25 from the field in the period (.640), including 5-of-12 from beyond the arc (.417).
 
An 11-4 MSU surge over the first 3:35 of the second half brought the Bulldogs back to within 46-44. MSU converted 5-of-8 field goal attempts while VU connected on 2-of-7 over the same span. A 3-pointer from Samuels got the Nova lead back to 49-44.
 
Consecutive 3-pointers by Robinson-Earl and Samuels helped Villanova push its advantage up to 57-50 as the contest reached the midpoint of the period.  
 
"Ohio State blitzed us (last week) and we didn't handle it well," stated Wright. "I loved how we kept our composure today."
 
The Bulldogs drew to within 74-71 in the final minutes but clutch free throws from Robinson-Earl and Samuels effectively ended the suspense. The final count was 83-76.
 
Sunday's championship tilt is set for 5 p.m. (ESPN2 and 610 ESPN Radio).
 
The 2019-20 season – Villanova's 100^th college basketball campaign – is presented by Hartford Funds and Coca-Cola.