PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A career-high 33 points, including a dagger 3-pointer with 28.2 seconds left, from Collin Gillespie helped carry No. 10 Villanova past No. 8 Providence in a Top 10 matchup played Tuesday night before a raucous crowd of 12,630 at the Dunkin Donuts Center.
 
The Wildcats held the lead for most of the final 20 minutes but Providence kept closing in. It was 82-80 as Villanova advanced the ball into the frontcourt when Gillespie drained a pure triple, his fifth of the evening, to give Nova a five-point advantage. They went on to win 89-84 to improve to 20-6 overall, 13-3 BIG EAST.
 
The loss snapped an eight-game Friars winning streak (21-3 overall, 11-2 BIG EAST).
 
Justin Moore recorded a double-double, with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
 
"That was just a great college basketball game, a great Big East environment," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "There were a lot of big-time players making big-time shots out there.
 
"I'm so proud of Collin and Justin. They've been injured, have barely practiced and they were both tremendous tonight. Providence has players banged up, every team in our league does at this point in the season. These kids are just so tough. They don't sit out in this league."
 
Villanova sank its first three attempts from beyond the 3-point arc to craft a 13-8 advantage over the Friars after 4:18 of action. Providence did its damage in the paint courtesy of Nate Watson and Ed Croswell, scoring six early points near the basket.
 
The firepower of Moore continued to fuel Villanova, as he sank a 3-pointer and a two-pointer to help the 'Cats inch their lead to 18-14 as the contest approached the midpoint of the first half. Villanova retained the lead after a Jermaine Samuels dunk and Caleb Daniels drive and score but PC was right on its heels, down 24-23 at the 7:29 mark of the first half.
 
Providence took advantage of a Wildcats turnover to score the next basket to take a 25-24 lead. But with Gillespie joining Moore in the firepower brigade, Villanova outscored the Friars 22-14 over the remaining seven minutes of the period to grab a 46-39 lead at the half.
 
Moore (18 points) and Gillespie (10 points) combined for 28 of those first stanza points. Jared Bynum (10 points) and Nate Watson (nine points) paced Providence.
 
Watson scored the first four points of the second half on low-post moves to shave the gap to 46-43 a little more than one minute into the period. Two Gillespie free throws gave Nova its first points of the second period.
 
Gillespie's eight points in the early minutes of the second half helped VU build a 58-54 as the second half clock ticked under 14 minutes. Samuels was whistled for his fourth foul and headed to the bench. A Bynum runner cut the gap to 58-56. Then Gillespie notched a spectacular old school 3-point play, draining a free throw after being fouled in the act of shooting. He then scored again on a nifty entry pass and layup.
 
"Whenever we needed a play, Collin and Justin were there for us," Wright said. "That's experience."
 
The Wildcats held a 63-58 lead at the 11:47 mark of the second half. Providence pulled even at 64 on a layup with just more than nine minutes to go before Caleb Daniels drained a pull-up 3-pointer to put Nova back on top at 67-64.
 
A pair of Brandon Slater free throws gave the Wildcats a 73-66 lead at the 5:24 mark but Providence scored the next four points to close the gap to 73-70. Slater scored another layup to push the advantage back to 75-70 but an AI Durham basket and two free throws drew the Friars within 75-73 with 3:43 on the clock.
 
Moore picked up his fourth foul at that juncture as well.
 
A Gillespie 3-pointer made it 78-73 in Villanova's favor but a traditional 3-point play by Watson with 1:43 on the clock closed the margin to 78-76. A long feed on the ensuing inbound pass found Dixon open near the Wildcats' basket and he converted the shot to make it 80-76. A Durham drive and shot, bounced around the rim and fell in to bring PC to within 80-78 with a little more than a minute to go in regulation.
 
Two Gillespie free throws were offset by another Durham drive and score. That set up a Gillespie 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 85-80 and give Villanova all the points it would need.
 
"Coming into a hostile environment," stated Moore, "we lean on each other. We come in and compete and play for each other."
 
"Justin said it best," added Gillespie. "It's leaning on each other, knowing that there are going to be tough moments. We just had to keep a great road attitude and stay together for 40 minutes."
 
The Wildcats return to campus Saturday to host Georgetown at Finneran Pavilion. Tipoff is set for just after 5 p.m. in a game that will air on the Fox network (Fox 29 in Philadelphia) and the Villanova IHeart Radio Network.