VILLANOVA, Pa. – It's been a mantra at Villanova for more than two decades: a superior defense never takes a night off. And for the third straight game, the Wildcats turned a top shelf defensive performance into a homecourt win, downing Butler 62-50 in the regular season finale at Finneran Pavilion.
Senior Night honoree Justin Moore led VU with 15 points while graduate student Caleb Daniels added 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers midway through the second half that helped the 'Cats take control.
But the story of the night was largely written at the defensive end. The 'Cats limited the Bulldogs to .377 shooting and enjoyed a 10-0 edge in points off of turnovers. Over the final 10:08, Villanova outscored Butler 23-12. It won despite converting 19-of-54 from the field on the night (.352).
"I thought our defensive effort, from start to finish, was unbelievable," said Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. "It was led by Caleb and Justin, but I think everyone was into it. They made a couple of runs and we didn't sink our shoulders or shrug our heads. We just kept coming. I'm really proud of our effort."
Prior to the game, Villanova (13-13 overall, 7-8 BIG EAST) honored a trio of fourth-year seniors – Chris Arcidiacono and Eric Dixon joined Moore – as part of its annual "Senior Night" festivities.
As was the case in Villanova's victory over Seton Hall on Saturday, points were hard to come by in the opening minutes of this one. Butler owned a 4-2 lead after 4:36 as it held VU to 1-of-6 shooting from the field and forced a pair of turnovers. A Moore 3-pointer gave the 'Cats their first lead of the evening at 5-4.
A 6-0 Bulldogs' response gave it a 10-5 edge before a corner 3-pointer from Arcidiacono cut the deficit to two with 11:43 left in the first half. The battle remained tight into the later stages of the period, as Butler was up 14-13 after six points from Jayden Taylor.
The Wildcats moved up 18-14 but Butler used a 10-5 burst over the final minutes of the period to reclaim the lead, 24-23. On its final possession of the half, Eric Dixon found a cutting Caleb Daniels, who laid the ball into the goal just before the horn sounded to complete the period.
Villanova held a 25-24 lead at the break.
The Wildcats held the Bulldogs to 11-of-28 shooting from the floor (.391) but battled their own accuracy issues at the other end, converting 9-of-26 in the period (.346). Moore's six points paced Villanova while Taylor led all scorers with 12 points.
Villanova scored the first five points of the second half to gain a 30-24 lead but Butler hit right back with seven straight to move in front 31-30. A Daniels' 3-pointer helped the 'Cats move on top, 37-31 before a pair of Chuck Harris free throws closed the Bulldogs deficit to four at the 11:49 mark.
Three-pointers from Daniels on consecutive possessions and a Brandon Slater basket off a feed from Dixon helped VU craft a 47-40 lead with 7:25 to play in the second half.
"It felt really good," said Daniels of the two triples that gave Villanova a bit of breathing room. "I credit my teammates for finding me in transition and trusting me to make the open shots"
However, a 5-1 run brought Butler to within 48-45. Moore answered with a 3-pointer from the left wing to push the Nova lead to 51-45. A Dixon basket off a feed from Moore made it 53-45. An exclamation point dunk came courtesy of Slater with 1:27 left.
"I'm not going to lie," Daniels said. "Normally I'm locked into the game but I when I saw him dunk the ball I almost fell over on the court. It was pretty impressive."
It wrapped up a memorable "Senior Night".
"It was special (to get the win)," said Moore. "It was most special to be out there competing with my guys knowing we competed as hard as we could. We've got a lot of growth still left to get better at."
Tuesday night's matchup completes a three-game home run for Nova. The Wildcats will travel Friday ahead of a Saturday afternoon clash with No. 18 Providence in Rhode Island (4:30 p.m/Fox television network/Fox 29 in Philadelphia and the Villanova Sports Radio Network).
