NEW YORK, N.Y. – With Villanova searching for offense and down by four in the second half, it turned to its leader and Collin Gillespie responded in a huge way.
 
Gillespie, held without a first-half point, sank consecutive 3-pointers in the final minutes to help carry the Wildcats (26-7 overall) past Creighton 54-48 to claim the BIG EAST Tournament championship. It is Villanova's fifth tourney title since 2015. Gillespie finished with 17 points while Justin Moore added 16 points.
 
"Creighton is a very good defensive team," said Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "You saw what they did to Providence. We just couldn't score. We just had to grind it out. Collin and Justin Moore made big plays for us at the end.
 
"It's such a blessing for us to be a part of this tournament here. The crowd, the energy and the quality of play – there's nothing like it."
 
Villanova scored the game's first seven points, with Justin Moore putting in five of them. Creighton's defense matched the Wildcats and helped the Bluejays narrow the deficit to 9-5 with 11:49 left in the first half. Noteworthy too was the second foul whistled on Jermaine Samuels five minutes into the period. Samuels went to the bench.
 
As the Wildcats were in the midst of a 2-of-12 stretch from the floor, Creighton drew to within 12-11 before Brandon Slater sank a 3-pointer with just under eight minutes to play in the first half to extend the margin to 15-11. A pair of Eric Dixon baskets helped Nova to a 19-14 edge before four straight points closed the gap to 19-18 with 1:36 to play in the half.
 
Neither team scored in the final 96 seconds and the Wildcats took the one point lead into their locker room at intermission despite not scoring in the final 4:55 of the period. The first 20 minutes were a classic defensive struggle, with the Bluejays converting 8-of-25 from the floor (.320) while Nova was 8-of-27 (.296). Moore's six points led Villanova, which held a 20-16 advantage on the glass.
 
Collin Gillespie sank a short jumper in the Wildcats' first possession of the first half. A few seconds later Alex O'Connell sank a 3-pointer to tie the contest at 21 less than two minutes into the period. Creighton grabbed its first lead on a Ryan Kalkbrenner jump hook at 23-22. A drive by Gillespie put VU back in front 24-23 after 4:27 of second half action.
 
When Moore dropped in 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, Villanova had forged a 33-25 lead at the 12:10 mark. Four straight points from Kalkbrenner cut the lead in half, 33-29. A Trey Alexander 3-pointer off of a Creighton offensive rebound deadlocked the contest at 36. There was 8:06 left in the second half.
 
A Kalkbrenner slam at the 5:25 mark gave Creighton a 43-39 lead. Two Gillespie free throws and a huge 3-pointer from the left wing by Caleb Daniels pushed Nova back in front, 44-43. A Kalkbrenner putback basket gave the Bluejays the lead at 45-44 with 3:46 left in the period.
 
Up stepped Gillespie. The BIG EAST Player of the Year drained 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give the Wildcats a 50-45 lead with 1:58 remaining in the second half. A Kalkbrenner free throw and two more at the line by Alexander narrowed the lead to 50-48 with 37.8 seconds to play.
 
The Wildcats then closed out the win with defensive stops, a basket by Moore and a pair of free throws by Gillespie.
 
"I can't say I expect this from Collin," said Wright. "In my mind I am probably a pessimist and I am trying to think ahead to the next play. I'm still kind of surprised when he makes those plays. It's incredible. But we put it into his hands to make those plays. And then he was exhausted and we went to Justin who finished off the game.
 
"To have those guys do that is huge. That's why you win championships."