VILLANOVA, Pa. –  An 11-0 scoring run through the final three minutes of action propelled Villanova to an 81-65 BIG EAST victory over DePaul on Wednesday night at the Finneran Pavilion. All five Villanova (11-13, 5-8 BIG EAST) starters finished the game in double-figures, led by an 18-point outing for Caleb Daniels.
 
The second half alone provided to be a close contest between the two sides with 10 of the 11 lead changes on the night coming in the final frame. The Wildcats overcame a DePaul (9-16, 3-11 BIG EAST) unit that led by as many as nine points nearly halfway into the game. Villanova's defense limited the Blue Demons to 11-of-28 (.393) shooting in the second half while shooting 16-of-29 (.517) on the other end of the court.
 
"We fought all the whole way through," Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune said. "We took a couple runs and we just kept playing. I thought we really played well defensively in the last 10 minutes of the game – got some stops, got some key rebounds and making some shots didn't hurt either. I'm proud of our guys' effort."
 
On a night when Villanova retired the No. 1 jersey of Jalen Brunson and held a pre-game thank you ceremony for former head coach Jay Wright, DePaul grabbed the early lead at 6-4. The Blue Demons sank 3-of-5 over the first 4:56 while the 'Cats struggled to find the range until Eric Dixon and Justin Moore got buckets.
 
The Blue Demons hot shooting continued as they sank 4-of-5, including a pair of 3-pointers, to grab a 16-10 lead at the 11:37 mark of the period. It moved out to a 21-12 lead before Daniels sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Nova its first points from beyond the arc on the night. That kicked off an 8-0 spurt that narrowed the deficit to 21-20 with 7:07 to play in the first half.
 
On the next DePaul possession, Daniels was whistled for his second foul. He went to the bench at the 7:05 mark. Freshman Brendan Hausen then dropped in a 3-pointer to give VU its first lead of the evening, 23-22.
 
After a traditional 3-point play from Justin Moore extended the lead to 33-25, DePaul scored the next six points to close to within 33-31 as the clock dipped below the one minute mark. A basket by Moore stopped the run, making it 35-31. An Eric Dixon putback pushed the margin to 37-31 before Umoja Gibson hit a long 3-pointer just before the horn to cut DePaul's deficit in half.
 
Moore paced Nova with nine first half points while Johnson's 11 points led DePaul.
 
The Blue Demons used a 7-3 spurt to regain the lead at 41-40 three minutes into the second half. The teams traded leads over the next six minutes with DePaul edging back in front 49-48 on an Eral Penn basket with 12:17 to play in the second half.
 
Enter Caleb Daniels. The graduate student heated up with a trio of 3-pointers, the last of which gave Villanova a 62-56 lead with eight minutes remaining on the second half clock. Five points from Moore helped VU build a 68-61 edge as the clock dipped below the five minute mark.
 
DePaul made its way within five thanks to a Gibson layup to make it a 70-65 contest with just under four minutes remaining. Villanova put its foot on the gas to the tune of an 11-0 run to close the night, a streak that was highlighted by a Brandon Slater 3-pointer and a fast break jam from Cam Whitmore that closed the book.
 
Moore and Whitmore both logged 17-point outings in the win. Dixon led the 'Cats with five rebounds and a career-high five assists.
 
This was the first of three straight at home for Villanova. Seton Hall will be in Philadelphia Saturday night for a game that is set to get underway at 8 p.m. (FS1 and the Villanova Sports Radio Network).