VILLANOVA, Pa. – Another stellar defensive effort helped carry No. 14/14 Villanova to a 67-43 triumph over DePaul in a BIG EAST game played Tuesday night before 6,501 at Finneran Pavilion. The win was the eighth in nine games for Villanova (15-5 overall, 8-2 BIG EAST).
 
The Wildcats built a 13-point halftime lead and survived a DePaul (10-9 overall, 1-8 BIG EAST) surge that narrowed the edge to six points midway through the period before a Collin Gillespie 3-pointer halted the run.
 
Justin Moore led the 'Cats with 16 points while Gillespie added 14 points. Eric Dixon scored nine points in the second half, finishing with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Wildcats out-rebounded DePaul 33-30.
 
"That is a good DePaul team we played tonight," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "They are long and athletic, a very good defensive team. I thought we also played good defense tonight. Justin and Eric did a great job with that. Eric plays guards on the perimeter and Justin's in there playing centers at times.
 
"As a team we did a really good job."
 
Brandon Slater opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock wound down towards zero. The Wildcats' 5-0 edge was erased on back-to-back possessions as DePaul drained 3-pointers before a Moore triple gave Nova an 8-6 lead at the first official timeout of the night.
 
A 7-0 burst midway through the period – capped by a 3-pointer by Caleb Daniels – helped Villanova push its advantage to 24-15. Five points from Jermaine Samuels and some strong defense helped craft that edge with 8:11 to play in the first half.
 
The Blue Demons responded with their own spurt, reeling off five straight points.  Javan Johnson's second 3-pointer of the evening cut the lead to 24-20 with just under six minutes to play in the period.
 
Villanova then clamped down defensively for the remainder of the period, limiting the Blue Demons to a single field goal in that span. At the offensive end, Collin Gillespie dropped in a pair of 3-pointers to help the 'Cats expand their lead to 35-22 at halftime.
 
Moore's 11 points paced Villanova in the period. Javan Johnson matched that figure for DePaul, also adding 11 points.
 
VU connected on 13-of-26 from the field over the first 20 minutes, including 8-of-12 from beyond the 3-point arc.
 
DePaul's defense altered the complexion of the contest in the early minutes of the second half. The Blue Demons limited VU to 2-of-12 shooting (.182) from the field over the first seven minutes of the period. When Jalen Terry sank a short jumper, the Blue Demons were back to within 40-34 at the 11:34 mark of the period.
 
"The message all night was that these guys are long and aggressive, they're on the offensive glass," said Wright. "They were backing us down in the post and we had to be physical. It wasn't just when they got to within six. It was all night.
 
"We did outrebound them, which is an accomplishment."
 
Wright believes his team's experience played a role.
 
"Collin, Justin and Jermaine are the ones on the floor that keep everyone together," Wright stated. "I'm saying the same things all the time. Whether it gets done is up to the guys on the floor. We have leaders who got it done on the floor."
 
The Nova scoring drought lasted more than four and a half minutes before Gillespie picked up a loose ball and drained a 3-pointer from the right wing. From there the Wildcats were able to add to their lead, often relying on the interior scoring of Dixon, whose layup with 3:28 to play gave Villanova its largest lead of the evening, 63-41.
 
The final count was 67-43.
 
"There is nowhere you go in this league where basketball isn't important," said Wright. "Every game on these campuses is the most important thing. Guys that pick these schools are picking them because they're basketball schools. Not because they went to a football game on a weekend and had a good time. They're going there to play basketball and it makes this league really tough, top to bottom."
 
"Every game, it's physical out there and that's why it's one of the toughest conferences," added Moore.
 
This was the first of two on-campus battles for the Wildcats this week. On Saturday Villanova hosts St. John's at 4:30 p.m. in a game that will be carried on the Fox broadcast network (Fox 29 in Philadelphia) and the Villanova IHeart Radio Network.