VILLANOVA, Pa. – Career highs in points from junior Justin Moore (27) and Brandon Slater (17) helped power Villanova to a 91-51 victory over Mount St. Mary's in the regular season opener for both teams Tuesday at Finneran Pavilion.
 
Villanova never trailed in a contest when it dropped in 15 3-points by five different players and limited the Mount to 3-of-12 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. The Wildcats also forced 18 turnovers which resulted in a 27-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
"We played pretty well," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "They're a team that was in the NCAA Tournament last year with a lot of veteran players. They do a really good job. We have respect for them. We thought we played well. That was a good start for us."
 
The Wildcats missed their first shot but converted their next four and raced out to an early 10-0 lead as Moore scored six of those points. Part of that surge was fueled by a defense that began the season in top form, employing a ¾ court trap to help force four turnovers by the Mount.
 
"I thought Justin did a great job," stated Wright. "In the second half they adjusted on him and he still found people while still staying aggressive. That's been part of his learning process. He had a lot of games last year where he had great streaks and then because he's such an unselfish player, he would think 'I'm on a streak, now I have to get everyone else involved. We've been trying to teach him to stay aggressive even though you want to get everyone else involved. If it's there you've got to take it."
 
Villanova pushed its advantage to 17-4 before Mount St. Mary's began to get its offense going. The Mount used a 9-5 mini-run midway through the period to shave its deficit to 22-13 as the game dipped below the nine-minute mark.
 
However, Jermaine Samuels led the Wildcats on a 23-8 burst over those final minutes of the first period to give Villanova a 45-21 lead at intermission.
 
"We started well defensively," Wright said. "We want to do that every game but it just doesn't work that way. Sometimes the other team has a lot to do with that. And sometimes we don't start as aggressively as we would like defensively. I thought we did a good job of that today."
 
"We trusted in each other," added Moore. "We weren't looking for me specifically. We were just trying to come out, play together and set the tone defensively. That helped us get into our offense."
 
In the first half the Wildcats drained eight-of-18 from beyond the 3-point arc (.444) thanks to Moore (four), Brandon Slater (two) and one each from Collin Gillespie and Samuels. Moore (17 points) and Samuels (13) combined for 30 of those 45 first half points.
 
Just as vital was a defensive effort that limited the Mount to 9-of-23 shooting (.391) and forced nine turnovers. Villanova held a 16-3 advantage in points scored off of turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
 
Slater, who finished with a career best five 3-pointers to go with those 17 points, helped Villanova add to its lead over the final 20 minutes. Wright leaned on a 10-deep bench, including the college debuts of Jordan Longino and Nnanna Njoku, to help bolster the cushion.
 
"I thought the ability to use our depth kept us strong in the second half," stated Wright. "It helped us keep our defensive intensity up. That's something that has affected us in the past when we didn't have the depth. We would play hard for a while and we would lose our defensive intensity because we were a little fatigued. We were able to keep fresh bodies out there and I think it really helped."
 
Tuesday's matinee kicked off a busy week for No. 4/4 Villanova. The Wildcats are scheduled to depart Wednesday afternoon for Los Angeles, where they will face No. 2 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion at 11:30 p.m. eastern (ESPN2 and IHeart Philadelphia Villanova Radio Network).