VILLANOVA, Pa. – High octane offense helped Villanova fend off a display of firepower by Howard (3-1 overall) to post a 100-81 victory at Finnerna Pavilion Tuesday night. A career-high 23 points from Brandon Slater and 21 from Collin Gillespie fueled the Wildcats.
 
Howard shot a sizzling .739 in the first half and .566 for the game.
 
Villanova, meanwhile, matched the Bison from the field over the 40 minutes (.566) and also converted all 26 of its free throw attempts on the night.
 
"I give a lot of credit to Howard," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "They are very intelligent about what they're doing, very disciplined about what they do. I hope they're a really good team. They look like it to me.
 
"We couldn't guard them. Thank God we can score. We just outscored them."
 
Kyle Foster led the Bison with 19 points.
 
Howard drained a 3-pointer on its opening possession before Villanova responded with four consecutive deep balls to grab an early 12-3 advantage. The Bison displayed its own shooting prowess from beyond the arc, sinking three more triples while sinking six of its first nine from the field to close the gap to 22-18 at the 9:56 mark of the first half.
 
The Bison connected on 11 consecutive field goals in the latter stages of the first half to turn up the heat on Villanova. But the Wildcats retained the lead thanks to timely 3-pointer from Collin Gillespie and Bradon Slater. Villanova held a 42-35 advantage with 3:09 to play in the first half.
 
A corner 3-ball from Slater gave the 'Cats a 48-35 edge but the Bison came back with back-to-back threes of its own and narrowed the deficit to 50-44 before a Justin Moore basket closed the scoring for the half.
 
Villanova took a 52-44 lead into its locker room.
 
Howard's accuracy from the field allowed it to remain within striking distance of the Wildcats. The Bison sank 17-of-23 from the field, including 8-of-12 from beyond the 3-point arc. Villanova needed 10 3-pointers and 10 free throws to maintain its lead.
 
"If you watched their film of their game at Bradley, you could see it," stated Wright. "They went at Bradley and just sliced them. We knew coming in they could do that. They didn't do it against Bradley at the level they did against us in the first half.
 
"I've got to watch the film, but I didn't think we were that bad defensively. We were there for a lot of the 3's. They just stuck them. And they made some tough 2's, some turnaround fadeaway jumpers. I've just got to give them credit."
 
The Wildcats scored the first seven points of the second half, getting two defensive stops in a row to stretch its lead to 59-44. But the Bison got its offense started again, dropping in a pair of 3-pointers to pull within 62-54 with 15:14 to playa in the second half.
 
A 15-3 spurt midway through the period, much of it sparked by Gillespie, finally allowed the Wildcats to create some separation. They reached the 100-point plateau on the first made 3-pointer of Jordan Longino's career. It was the first time Villanova has reached the century mark since a 100-77 win over Morgan State to open the 2018-19 season.
 
"They're a great team and they were making shots," said Slater. "We made a couple of mistakes but they're a really great team. We can't take anything away from them."
 
The Wildcats won't host a game until Dec. 4, when Philadelphia Big Five rival Saint Joseph's comes to Finneran Pavilion. There will be a four-game stretch of games away from home before that, beginning with this weekend's Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The Wildcats open against the Tennessee Volunteers at 1 p.m. Saturday (ESPNNews and the Villanova Radio Network.)