NEW YORK, N.Y– A terrific second half, sparked by a dominant performance on the glass, carried Villanova to a 67-53 victory over Syracuse at the Jimmy V Classic Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Wildcats trailed the Orange 29-26 at intermission before grabbing the lead midway through the second half and pulling away in the final minutes.
 
Junior Justin Moore led Villanova with 18 points and six caroms. Graduate student Jermaine Samuels became a big second half story, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds.
 
On the night, the 'Cats owned a 57-36 edge on the backboards. Six different Wildcats collected at least six caroms.
 
"This was a great college basketball atmosphere," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright said of a crowd of 14,343. "To feel this place rocking, to see all that Syracuse Orange in there felt like old times. Our guys really enjoyed that. I could feel it the first time I walked out to the court.
 
"Syracuse is a really explosive offensive team. They have so many weapons. I was really proud of our second half effort. We struggled in the first half with their zone and we struggled making shots. Our defensive effort in the second half was outstanding. Justin and Jermaine gave us offense but defensively and on the glass they were great."
 
The game's first 4:13 featured some long-distance marksmanship, with each team draining a trio of 3-point field goals. The Orange held a 12-11 lead at the game's first official timeout.
 
Syracuse, leaning on its length in an extended 2-3 zone, held Villanova without a field goal for more than seven minutes midway through the period to establish a 22-17 lead before a Moore 3-pointer ended the drought. Some good work on the glass and three free throws by graduate student Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree brought the Wildcats into a 24-24 tie with just more than two minutes to play in the first half.
 
The Orange used a 5-2 mini-spurt to close the half to take a 29-26 lead into the locker room at intermission.
 
Both teams could point to their defense as a positive. Villanova remained within striking distance largely because of its grit. The Wildcats held the Orange to .393 shooting from the field and forced seven turnovers. However, Syracuse's defense was a touch better, holding the Wildcats to 9-of-37 shooting from the field in the first half, including 5-of-28 from beyond the 3-point arc.
 
Moore's nine points paced Nova while Jimmy Boeheim's 11 points were tops for the Orange over the first 20 minutes.
 
The Wildcats found a smoother offensive flow to open the second half, dropping in 5-of-8 to open the period to grab a 37-36 lead at the 15:56 mark. A pair of 3-pointers from Caleb Daniels helped VU forge a tie game at 43 seven minutes into the period.
 
Villanova constructed a spurt midway through the period, capped by a 3-pointer by Samuels that gave the 'Cats a 55-47 lead with just under eight minutes to play in the second half. Syracuse, though, scored the next four points to cut its deficit to 55-51.
 
But the Wildcats finished on a 12-2 burst, snuffing any hope of an Orange rally, to up their record to 7-2 overall. Syracuse fell to 5-4 overall.
 
"Rebounding is an area we have struggled with at times," said Wright. "We've been getting better over the last couple of games and we knew this was going to be a test. That (rebounding) was big because in the first half we couldn't make a shot. Offensive rebounding kept us in the game."
 
Villanova ended the night with 27 offensive caroms.
 
Its 50 3-point attempts were the most-ever by a Villanova team.
 
"We're fortunate that we get to play in a game like this," stated Wright. "It was a special night and it was great to do this in support of the V Foundation."
 
The Wildcats will be on the road Sunday as part of the BIG EAST/Big 12 Challenge. Villanova makes its first visit to Waco, Tex., to face No. 2 ranked Baylor at 3 p.m. eastern (ABC Network/6abc/Villanova Radio Network).