WASHINGTON, D.C. –  No. 9/6 Villanova climbed out of an 18-point first half hole to rally past Georgetown 76-63 in the BIG EAST opener for both teams Friday night at McDonough Arena. It was the Wildcats' ninth consecutive win in a conference opener (2012-20).
 
The 'Cats trailed 40-22 at the 4:45 mark of the first half and 46-33 at halftime.
 
Caleb Daniels and Collin Gillespie each scored 18 points to pace Nova. In the second half, the Wildcats outscored the Hoyas 43-17.
 
"It was a Big East battle," stated VU head coach Jay Wright, whose team upped its record to 5-1 overall, 1-0 BIG EAST. "They were prepared for everything we did in the first half. They just sliced us. We had some good shots, and didn't make them, but we couldn't stop them. Everything we tried to do, they had an answer for.
 
"I'm just proud of our guys for grinding it out on the road, continuing to play for 40 minutes. In this league when you get a win on the road, it's very valuable."
 
Georgetown had the upper hand in the opening minutes, outscoring the Wildcats 9-4 in the game's first 3:35. Villanova narrowed its gap to 19-16 before the Hoyas went on a 10-2 burst to establish a 29-18 lead midway through the first period.
 
The Hoyas sank 5-of-8 from beyond the arc in the game's first 11:15 while Villanova converted just 3-of-12. The margin grew to 33-19 at the 7:38 mark for the Hoyas after a pair of Timothy Ighoefe free throws. Georgetown held a 16-8 advantage over Nova on the glass at that juncture.
 
The lead expanded to 40-22 before the Wildcats shaved the gap with some offense from Gillespie in the final minutes of the period. The Hoyas were on top 46-33.
 
For the period, Georgetown sizzled, connecting on 18-of-31 field goal attempts, including 6-of-10 from deep. The Wildcats, meanwhile, were just 12-of-33 (.364). Jermaine Samuels led Nova with seven points while Jamorko Pickett and Qudus Wahab each had 12 points for Georgetown.
 
"Defensively," Wright stated, "we were a step behind everything they did."
 
Villanova, however, carried its late momentum of the first 20 minutes into the second half, using a 15-0 burst in the early minutes to claim its first lead of the night, 53-50, on a Caleb Daniels' corner 3-pointer. The Wildcats made 5-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc in that span.
 
"We didn't make any great changes in the second half," noted Wright. "I just thought we got comfortable with what they were doing and defended it better."
 
The Hoyas (2-3 overall, 0-1 BIG EAST) hit back with a 9-2 spurt that gave them the edge at 59-55 as the contest dipped below the 10-minute mark. A Cole Swider triple brought Nova back to within 59-58 on a 3-pointer.
 
At that point it seemed the contest was headed for a tight finish. But the Wildcats had other ideas and reeled off a 15-2 closing kick over the final 5:54 to cement the victory.
 
"It's always great to play," said Wright, "but it was really weird to play Georgetown in this gym without fans. This is one game you always just know it's going to be a huge crowd.
 
"Once the ball went up, though, it was a typical Big East battle."
 
Villanova is next slated to host Butler on Wednesday night at Finneran Pavilion (7 p.m. on FS1 and 95.7 Ben FM). It will serve as the Wildcats' home opener after a trio of prior cancellations (Saint Joseph's and Temple) and a postponement (DePaul).