An 18-2 run out of the halftime break helped visiting Villanova surge past Providence 71-60 in a crucial Big East matchup on Saturday afternoon.
Justin Moore scored 15 points on four 3-pointers to lead the Wildcats (17-12, 10-8 Big East), who swept the two-game season series from Providence and have won two straight and five of the past six overall.
Villanova shot 56.5 percent from the field in the latter period.
Eric Dixon (11 points) and Mark Armstrong (10, five assists) also scored in double figures.
Josh Oduro led Providence (18-11, 9-9) with 16 points and Devin Carter added 13. Both had nine rebounds.
Villanova surged out of the blocks in the second half as Armstrong sank a pair of quick jumpers, forcing a Providence timeout and opening a 9-0 run in less than five minutes.
The Friars’ first bucket of the half was a Carter layup, breaking an 0-for-6 start from the field. However, Brendan Hausen’s two treys during another nine-point spurt extended the Wildcat lead.
Rich Barron hit a key three to bring Providence back within 54-44, but Moore set up Lance Ware for a two-hand dunk and hit a 3-pointer of his own to make it a 15-point game again.
A Rafael Castro finish above the rim started Providence on a 7-0 run that ultimately cut its deficit to eight before Tyler Burton’s two free throws and a corner three brought the lead back to 11 with 4:22 left.
Oduro and Carter teamed up at the foul line, and Garwey Dual’s three brought the hosts back within six with 2:19 left, but Moore’s 3-point jumper less than 30 seconds later put the lead out of reach, and two Armstrong free throws capped off the scoring.
Providence took an early 12-6 lead on the strength of a 4-of-7 run from 3-point range. Ticket Gaines started the game with a corner triple and hit two during the early stretch.
Hausen slipped free for a straight-on triple, and Moore hit a layup to bookend the visitors’ 10-2 run that flipped the score to 16-14 at the 12:26 mark.
An Oduro 3-point play was the Friars’ response, but Moore and TJ Bamba connected on back-to-back treys to make it a 23-19 Villanova advantage.
Providence led 37-34 at halftime in large part due to a 14-2 run that erased a two-point deficit with 8:30 to play. Dual’s right-corner three turned the score at 6:57. Carter dropped eight points during that stretch.
Bamba’s 3-point play and a Hakim Hart trey got Villanova six points back by the 2:01 mark in the half.
–Field Level Media
