VILLANOVA, Pa. – When times get tough, Villanova often calls on its senior captains, Eric Paschall and Phil Booth.
 
The duo came through yet again on Wednesday night at the Finneran Pavilion, fueling a late 15-2 burst that broke a taut battle open as the No. 13 Wildcats (20-5 overall, 11-1 BIG EAST) downed Providence (14-11 overall, 4-8 BIG EAST) in a contest played before a capacity crowd of 6,501.
 
Paschall finished his night with 25 points, on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. Booth added 22 points. Sophomore Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree contributed ed 12 points and seven caroms.
 
"Providence does a great job of taking away 3's," noted Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "I think it started for (Eric) with him getting to the rim early in the second half. Then they played him for the drive, he recognized that and got some 3's."
 
Indeed Paschall was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc after halftime.
 
The Wildcats trailed Providence 57-55 before closing the game by outscoring the Friars 28-10 the rest of the way.
 
Villanova has now posted 20 or more victories in each of the last seven seasons, and 14 of the last 15.
 
Cosby-Roundtree also played a vital role in the triumph.
 
"I'm really happy for him," stated Wright. "We're really hard on him, but he's only a sophomore. We expect so much out of him because he's one of the few guys that was even here last year. He's really starting to come on and against their size tonight, (he) was really valuable."
 
            Villanova misfired on its first six field goal attempts before a Paschall 3-pointer connected. A defense that forced three Providence turnovers in the early going allowed the Wildcats to grab an 8-7 lead after 4:11 of action.
 
            Both teams leaned on gritty half-court defense through the period. A 3-pointer from Joe Cremo helped Villanova stretch its advantage to 20-14 with 8:24 to play in the first half. But Nate Watson scored the next four points inside for the Friars – part of a personal 6-0 run – that narrowed the lead to 20-18.
 
            Each time the Wildcats began to create some separation on the scoreboard, Providence responded. A 5-0 run near the end of the period helped VU establish a 39-31 lead before Alpha Diallo dropped in a 3-pointer at the top of the key on PC's final possession of the period to shave the lead to 39-34 at the half.
 
            Booth's 11 points led Villanova in the first 20 minutes while Watson led Providence with eight points. The Wildcats were 11-of-27 from the field in the period (.407) but converted all 14 of their attempts from the free throw line to help offset that. The Friars, meanwhile, were 5-of-12 from beyond the 3-point arc (.417) and owned a 19-15 edge on the glass.
 
            Providence's first field goal attempt of the second half was blocked in spectacular fashion by Villanova's Jermaine Samuels. But the Friars sank their next five from the floor and pulled even at 45 four minutes into the half.
 
            The Wildcats put together an 8-0 run in response fueled by a Booth drive for two and 3-pointers on consecutive possessions from Paschall. But a series of Wildcats' fouls netted six straight free throws by the Friars and the lead was shaved to 53-51 after 7: 31 of the second half. The burst grew to 10-0 before a Cosby-Roundtree basket tied the game at 55.
 
            "That's a credit to Phil and Eric," Wright noted. "They helped us keep our composure there."
 
            After Providence took a 57-55 lead, the Wildcats came right back with a 7-0 surge, this one sparked by Paschall and it was VU in front 62-57 as the game dipped below the eight minute mark in the second half.
 
            "Coach just tells us to stay aggressive, and that's what I tried to do," Paschall said.
 
            Among those on hand to watch was 2017 Villanova All-American Josh Hart, now with the Los Angeles Lakers.
 
            "It's always great to have those guys back," Wright noted.
 
Following this contest, the Wildcats won't host a game for two full weeks. In that gap they will travel to meet St. John's at Madison Square Garden (Sunday at 5 p.m. on FS1 and 610 ESPN Radio); face Georgetown in Washington, D.C. (Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m.) and then are in Cincinnati on Feb. 24 to face Xavier.
 
The Wildcats return to Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday, Feb. 27 to host Marquette on Senior Night.