Villanova avoids slip-up at Georgetown as Justin Moore has strong second half

WASHINGTON, D.C. — For Villanova, the mission in the Capital was simple: win a game of Georgetown roulette.

It was closer than Villanova would have liked, as a loss likely would have ended the Wildcats’ hopes of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. But a flurry of first-half Brendan Hausen threes, a late TJ Bamba dagger, and a punctuating one-handed Eric Dixon dunk proved enough to earn the Wildcats a 70-54 victory.

The Wildcats improved to 14-11, 7-7 in the Big East, but more importantly, they have won three of their last four games. The Hoyas fell to 8-17, 1-13 in the Big East.

Georgetown opened the game on a 5-0 run, creating its largest lead since Jan. 19 and capitalizing on a Villanova pattern of slow starts. Then came Hausen, reeling off four quick threes to give the Wildcats a 26-17 lead. The Wildcats were plus-15 in Hausen’s 13 first-half minutes.

» READ MORE: Despite injuries, Justin Moore is giving ‘as much as I can’ for Villanova as it makes an NCAA push

“He did his job,” Georgetown coach Ed Cooley said. “We didn’t do our job with attention to detail [on the scouting report]. That’s what’s really, really frustrating.”

However, the defense was the main show in the first half. Villanova held the Hoyas to 19 points, the fourth time this season the Wildcats prevented an opponent from scoring 20.

Both sides found more offense in the second. The Hoyas matched their first-half output in the first 7 minutes, 22 seconds, while Villanova matched every shot. Veterans Justin Moore, Eric Dixon, and Tyler Burton only combined for two points in the first, but each opened the second half with a three.

The Hoyas cut Villanova’s lead to just four with 11:58 to play, but the Wildcats found enough defense in the final minutes to maintain a double-digit lead and avoid what would have been an embarrassing loss.

“The last couple games, we came out and did what we were looking to do defensively,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “I think we give ourselves a chance every time we do that.”

The Wildcats finished 11 of 31 on three-pointers (35.5%) and 25 of 55 (45.5%) from the field. Bamba, Hausen, Dixon, and Moore all finished in double figures.

Though the score ended up being comfortable, there were concerns. Georgetown never truly threatened beyond its initial run and when it cut the deficit to four at 45-41, but the Wildcats did not dominate, as they had in recent contests against Seton Hall and Providence.

Villanova struggled on the defensive glass and gave up 11 offensive rebounds. The first-half offense, beyond Hausen and Bamba, was minimal. All that mattered was a win against a weak Georgetown, but Villanova did not exactly put the Hoyas away.

There was a scare late in the first half. Starting point guard Mark Armstrong jumped to grab a loose ball, but crumpled to the ground with a right ankle injury. He went to the locker room, but returned to start the second half.

“He actually twisted his ankle in walk-through, believe it or not,” Neptune said. “I think he’ll be fine. Just a little ginger right now.”

Moore has struggled this season, with his year derailed by a right knee injury suffered in December. What was meant to be a curtain call and a chance to be the guy on a contending Villanova team has become a season where Moore’s main contribution is not on offense, but defensively and on the boards.

Since returning on Jan. 10, Moore had scored in double figures in just one of Villanova’s previous nine games. With Moore scoreless at halftime, Friday night was trending the same way.

Instead, Moore found some life. Playing in his hometown (Moore is from nearby Fort Washington, M.D. and played at local powerhouse DeMatha), Moore managed 10 second-half points, including two threes.

“It being my last time [here] in a Villanova uniform and us getting the win, that’s all we really care about,” Moore said.

He also attempted to dunk over a Georgetown defender, and while he was blocked, it showed a spark in his legs that hasn’t been there since his injury.

“My teammates know, here and there, I can make an aggressive play on the rim,” Moore said. “It’s just me being me.”

» READ MORE: Backs against the wall, Villanova is making opponents play its style. Reason for hope?

Villanova faces Butler (16-9, 7-7) at the Finneran Pavilion on Tuesday (6:30 p.m.) in a near must-win bubble matchup.

The Wildcats avoided what would have been a disaster Friday, setting up plenty of opportunities to enhance their NCAA Tournament resumé to come.